x

Politics

Democrats Rip Giuliani Over Obama

WASHINGTON – Democrats assailed former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for questioning President Barack Obama’s love of country, and urged the potential field of Republican presidential candidates to rebuke him for his comments.

Giuliani said at a New York City event on Feb. 17, “I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the President loves America.”

“He doesn’t love you. And he doesn’t love me. He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country,” said Giuliani, who sought the 2008 GOP Presidential nomination. His comments were reported by Politico and the New York Daily News.

Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said it’s time for Republican leaders to “stop this nonsense.”

Several likely GOP candidates declined to get involved. Giuliani, meanwhile, softened his remarks somewhat in an interview, saying he didn’t mean to question the President’s patriotism.

Asked by Fox News’ Megyn Kelly whether he had demonstrated “civility,” Giuliani replied: “I think it was perfectly civil. I think that is a perfectly reasonable opinion.”

His comments at the dinner brought to mind a familiar conservative criticism during Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns that he wasn’t proud enough of the United States.

During his Presidency, a smaller segment falsely claimed that Obama was not born in the United States but rather in his father’s native Kenya.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz said Giuliani “test drove this line of attack during his fleeting 2007 run for the Presidency.” Asked whether the comments were appropriate, Schultz said he would leave it to those at the event to make that assessment.

The private dinner was attended by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is considering a 2016 campaign. Giuliani said that “with all our flaws we’re the most exceptional country in the world. I’m looking for a Presidential candidate who can express that, do that and carry it out.”

“And if it’s you, Scott, I’ll endorse you,” Giuliani said, addressing Walker. “And if it’s somebody else, I’ll support somebody else.”

Walker, asked about the comments in an interview with CNBC, did not directly address whether he agreed with the former mayor.

“The Mayor can speak for himself. I’m not going to comment on whether — what the president thinks or not. He can speak for himself as well,” Walker said.

“I’ll tell you, I love America, and I think there are plenty of people, Democrat, Republican, independent, everywhere in between, who love this country.”

Democrats said the incident reflected poorly on Walker, who has generated early Presidential buzz among Republican activists in Iowa, the nation’s first 2016 contest.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, said he heard a “deafening silence” from Walker and said the Governor should “disassociate himself immediately” from the remarks.

Asked about Obama in an interview with Fox News on Feb. 19, Giuliani said he wasn’t “questioning his patriotism. He’s a patriot, I’m sure. What I’m saying is, in his rhetoric, I very rarely hear him say the things that I used to hear Ronald Reagan say, the things that I used to hear Bill Clinton say, about how much he loves America.”

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a potential Presidential candidate, defended Giuliani, saying what Obama had “obviously demonstrated for everyone is that he is incapable of successfully executing his duties as our commander in chief.”

Most Republican Presidential hopefuls largely avoided the subject. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said he had “no doubt” that Obama loves the country, “but I just think his policies are bad for our nation.”

Officials with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas declined comment.

Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman, said she often disagreed with former President George W. Bush and Republicans in Congress but never questioned their patriotism. She noted that Arizona Sen. John McCain, during his 2008 presidential campaign, urged fellow Republicans not to question Obama’s love of country.

“I would challenge my Republican colleagues and anyone in the Republican party to say, ‘Enough.’ They need to start leading,” Wasserman Schultz said at the start of the DNC’s winter meeting.

___

By Ken Thomas. AP writers Thomas Beaumont in Chicago; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Kathleen Ronayne in Concord, New Hampshire; and Jonathan Lemire in New York contributed to this report

 

 

 

RELATED

Maggie Goodlander is a Greek-American who is the Democratic candidate for New Hampshire’s second Congressional District.

herald

Top Stories

Columnists

A pregnant woman was driving in the HOV lane near Dallas.

General News

NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.

Video

1 Person Dies and 12 are Rescued after Elevator Malfunctions at Colorado Gold Mine Tourist Site

DENVER (AP) — One person was killed and 12 people were rescued after being trapped for about six hours at the bottom of a former Colorado gold mine when an elevator malfunctioned at the tourist site, authorities said.

NEW YORK – Artist Residency Center Athens (ARCAthens) shared an update on its latest developments including that the Spring 2025 Athens Residency applications are now open.

Back in 2016, a scientific research organization incorporated in Delaware and based in Mountain View, California, applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt charitable organization by the Internal Revenue Services.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris plans to release a report Saturday on her medical history and health that a senior campaign aide said would show “she possesses the physical and mental resiliency” needed to serve as president.

CHICAGO (AP) — Dominique Davenport was waiting for a ride home after getting off the MetroLink light rail one night in East St.

espa

Enter your email address to subscribe

Provide your email address to subscribe. For e.g. [email protected]

You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in our newsletter.