Rudy Giuliani has made a lot of missteps and isn’t slowing down in his false claims against not only Democrats but also his own record.
Giuliani blamed President Obama for spreading “propaganda” that “everybody should hate the police” during protests in 2014. And he failed the ultimate lie detector test–Four Pinocchios from The Washington Post–for his claims that he would have a lower cancer survival rate under “socialized” healthcare in the United Kingdom (after falsely asserting that Hillary supported a “socialized” system).
When will he get it right?
RUDY GIULIANI CLAIMED HE “BROUGHT DOWN CRIME” MORE THAN ANYONE
Rudy Giuliani: “I brought down crime more than anyone in this country — maybe in the history of this country — while I was mayor of New York City.” [Republican debate, Orlando, Florida, 10/21/07]
Politifact: “Giuiliani’s push for better policing tactics and policies were likely part of it, but not to the extent he claims, experts say.” “Giuliani’s push for better policing tactics and policies were likely part of it, but not to the extent he claims, experts say. His numbers do look good, and the decline in crime rates sure picked up speed when he was in charge: After falling about 12 percent from 1990 to 1993, violent crime dropped 56 percent over the next eight years. But most big cities, and the nation as a whole, followed a similar pattern: A slow fall beginning around 1990 or 1991, followed by a sharp drop over the next decade.” [Politifact, 10/22/07]
RUDY GIULIANI SAID TERRORIST ATTACKS DIDN’T HAPPEN UNDER BUSH
Rudy Giuliani: “We had no domestic attacks under Bush. We’ve had one under Obama.” [ABC, 1/8/10]
Politifact: “Giuliani is just plain wrong to suggest no terrorist attacks happened under Bush’s watch.” “Giuliani ran a presidential campaign based on the leadership he showed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. We would expect him to at least acknowledge that those attacks occurred while George W. Bush was president. But even considering that he was talking post-9/11, Giuliani is just plain wrong to suggest no terrorist attacks happened under Bush’s watch. The clarifications added by a Giuliani spokesman are threaded so thin, it sounds like damage control more than anything. We say Pants on Fire!” [Politifact, 1/8/10]
RUDY GIULIANI CLAIMED A LAWSUIT HE INITIATED AGAINST THE NRA TOOK “SEVERAL TURNS AND SEVERAL TWISTS” THAT HE DIDN’T AGREE WITH
Rudy Giuliani: “I did initiate that lawsuit back in 2000. Since then, I think that lawsuit has taken several turns and several twists that I don’t agree with.” “I did initiate that lawsuit back in 2000. Since then, I think that lawsuit has taken several turns and several twists that I don’t agree with. I also think that there have been subsequent intervening events, September 11th, which cast somewhat of a different light on the Second Amendment and Second Amendment rights. Doesn’t change the fundamental rights, but maybe it highlights the necessity for them more. And I’ve also had a chance to read and analyze the Parker decision, which obviously hadn’t taken place then.” [Rudy Giuliani, NRA’s “Celebration of American Values,” Conference, 9/21/07]
Washington Post Fact Checker: “Giuliani’s own explanation for the twists and turns in his position on gun control is unconvincing. It seems much more likely that Giuliani distanced himself from his own lawsuit for essentially political reasons.” “As mayor of New York, Giuliani was one of the strongest advocates in the country for tighter gun control measures. In a 1995 interview with Charlie Rose, he compared the NRA to ‘extremists’ and described the organization’s ‘defense of assault weapons’ as ‘a terrible, terrible mistake.’ See video here. Two years later, after a Palestinian opened fire on tourists at the top of the Empire State Building, Giuliani called for tighter gun control laws. He said it was ‘insane’ that the gunman, Ali Abu Kamal, had been able to walk into a gun shop in Florida and buy a Beretta. He continued to speak out in favor of gun control legislation years after 9/11. […] In the absence of comment from the Giuliani campaign, this case seems fairly clear-cut. As we have previously noted, we do not monitor candidates for flip-flops, but we do check them for honesty. Giuliani’s own explanation for the twists and turns in his position on gun control is unconvincing. It seems much more likely that Giuliani distanced himself from his own lawsuit for essentially political reasons, to win support from Republican primary voters and neutralize opposition to his candidacy from the NRA.” [Washington Post, 10/5/07]
RUDY GIULIANI FALSELY CLAIMED OBAMA “PROPAGANDA” SAYS “EVERYBODY SHOULD HATE THE POLICE”
Rudy Giuliani: Obama “propaganda” says “everybody should hate the police.” “We’ve had four months of propaganda, starting with the president, that everybody should hate the police. I don’t care how you want to describe it that’s what those protesters are all about. The protests are being embraced, the protests are being encouraged. The protests, even the ones that don’t lead to violence, a lot of them lead to violence, all of them lead to a conclusion: The police are bad, the police are racist. That is completely wrong.” [Fox News, 12/21/14]
Politifact: “Obama has continuously encouraged working with police to find solutions and make change. […]Giuliani’s claim is an outlandish distortion of what Obama actually said.” “Giuliani said Obama has said ‘that everybody should hate the police.’ Throughout all of his comments since August, when the latest unrest over racial disparities in the criminal justice system began, Obama has continuously encouraged working with police to find solutions and make change. He has also repeatedly emphasized the importance of law enforcement in communities of color and the fact that police officers have a dangerous job. Giuliani’s claim is an outlandish distortion of what Obama actually said. We rate this Pants on Fire.” [Politifact, 12/23/14]
RUDY GIULIANI CLAIMED AFRICAN-AMERICANS ARE CONVICTED AT THE SAME RATE AS WHITE AMERICANS
Rudy Giuliani: “[White people] go to jail at approximately the same percentage as blacks go to jail. The conviction rate is almost exactly the same.” “First of all, only about 3 percent of whites kill blacks. They go to jail at approximately the same percentage as blacks go to jail. The conviction rate is almost exactly the same. The difference is, it’s a very rare exception when a white kills a black.” [Fox News, 11/24/14]
Politifact: “Even if supported by statistical evidence — would amount to cherry-picking data to shed the most benign light on racial disparities of the American justice system.” “Giuliani said, ‘the conviction rate is almost exactly the same’ for whites and blacks who commit murder. We couldn’t find any statistical evidence to support Giuliani’s claim, and experts said they weren’t aware of any, either. We found some related data, but that data only serves to highlight some of the racial disproportion in the justice system. And when you take a step back, Giuliani’s comment — even if supported by statistical evidence — would amount to cherry-picking data to shed the most benign light on racial disparities of the American justice system. Jurisprudence in general does not reflect this pattern. Without statistical data to back up his claim, we rate it False.” [Politifact, 11/26/14]
RUDY GIULIANI LIED ABOUT A QUOTE IN HILLARY CLINTON’S BOOK
Rudy Giuliani: “[Hillary Clinton] once said that the unfettered free market is the most destructive force in modern America.” “The free market is one of our greatest assets. And the leading Democratic candidate [Hillary Clinton] once said that the unfettered free market is the most destructive force in modern America. I mean, just get an idea of where the philosophy comes from.’” [Politifact, 10/9/07]
Politifact: “Giuliani is blatantly — and repeatedly — misquoting a line from her 1996 book, It Takes a Village.” “Except Clinton never called the free market ‘destructive.’ Giuliani is blatantly — and repeatedly — misquoting a line from her 1996 book, It Takes a Village. In the text, Clinton quotes author Alan Ehrenhalt, who wrote in his book The Lost City: ‘‘The unfettered free market has been the most radically disruptive force in American life in the last generation.’’ During a March 1996 interview on the C-SPAN program Book Notes, Clinton said she agreed with the statement. But the word ‘disruptive’ is not the same as ‘destructive’ in the context of the free market, said Ehrenhalt, executive editor of Governing magazine. The magazine is published by CQ and is an affiliate of the St. Petersburg Times. ‘There’s no particular reason for a controversy,’ he said. ‘But Giuliani is looking for anything to say against Hillary Clinton … and he keeps distorting it.’ Most economists would agree, Ehrenhalt said, with his assertion that the free market causes interruptions, whether positive or negative, in its normal course — which is the dictionary definition of disruptive.[…] Because of Giuliani’s misquote, we give this a ruling of False.” [Politifact, 11/13/07]
RUDY GIULIANI LIED ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON’S HEALTH CARE PLAN
Rudy Giuliani: “What [Hillary Clinton] will do is socialized medicine. Socialized medicine is deteriorated medicine.” [Rudy Giuliani, Tampa, Florida, 9/17/07]
Politifact: “It’s inaccurate to call Clinton’s proposal ‘socialized medicine.’ It doesn’t meet that definition because the government would not control the system.” “According to Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, socialized medicine is ‘a system of medical care regulated and controlled by the government, in which the government assumes responsibility for providing for the health needs and hospital care of the entire population, at no direct cost or at a nominal fee to the individual, by means of subsidies obtained by taxation.’ It’s inaccurate to call Clinton’s proposal ‘socialized medicine.’ It doesn’t meet that definition because the government would not control the system and because of the heavy involvement of private insurance companies — which could turn a profit from the plan.” [Politifact, 9/18/07]
RUDY GIULIANI CLAIMED THE ODDS OF DYING OF PROSTATE CANCER IN THE UK WERE 2X WORSE THAN THE USA
Rudy Giuliani: “In the United States, 82 percent. My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England, only 44 percent under socialized medicine.” “I had prostate cancer, five, six years ago. My chances of surviving prostate cancer and thank God I was cured of it, in the United States, 82 percent. My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England, only 44 percent under socialized medicine.” [Rudy Giuliani, New Hampshire radio advertisement, 10/29/07]
Washington Post Fact Checker: “Rudy Giuliani is simply wrong when he claims that his chances of surviving prostate cancer are almost twice as high in the United States as in England, under a ‘socialized’ medical system.” “Rudy Giuliani is simply wrong when he claims that his chances of surviving prostate cancer are almost twice as high in the United States as in England, under a ‘socialized’ medical system. The mayor seems to be making a habit of making sweeping statements with little or no factual support. See our recent posts on his claims about Mikhail Gorbachev and the end of the Soviet Union, the cost of health care premiums, and his own record as mayor of New York. We award Giuliani four Pinocchios.” [Washington Post, 10/30/07]