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Rudy Giuliani news
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Rudy Giuliani said Mayor Zohran Mamdani should skip this week's 9/11 memorial events.
The 25th-anniversary ceremony now carries a fight over who gets to mourn.
Background
Giuliani was mayor during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and is still closely identified with the city's response. In the years since, he drifted far to the right, served as a personal lawyer and surrogate for President Donald Trump, and was involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, for which the president pardoned him last year. His comments made him the most prominent person to back a call from some conservatives for Mamdani to skip this week's memorial ceremonies.
How it unfolded
- Sep 6, 2026On Newsmax, Giuliani says he is 'offended' that Mamdani plans to attend the 9/11 memorial and compares him to the Sept. 11 hijackers.
- Sep 7, 2026Elected officials condemn Giuliani's remarks; Mamdani says he will attend Friday's annual reading of the names and that his focus will be on the families who lost loved ones.
- Sep 9, 2026NPR discusses the episode in a segment on 9/11 and the long shadow of Islamophobia, noting Giuliani also made false claims about Islam.
- Sep 10, 2026One day after New York City releases nearly 200,000 documents on post-9/11 air quality and health risks, Giuliani issues a scathing statement blaming the terrorists and the EPA.
Who’s saying what
- Support
- Giuliani said he was 'offended' by Mamdani's plan to attend and argued Mamdani 'stands in direct support of the movement that killed their children.'
- Caution
- Elected officials rebuked Giuliani over the remarks, and Mayor Mamdani said he will attend Friday's reading of the names, with his focus on the families who lost loved ones.
- Expert
- NPR's segment framed the episode around the long shadow of Islamophobia, noting Giuliani also made false claims about Islam, Mamdani's religion.