Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Monday there were no “successful” attacks carried out by radical Islamic terrorists in the eight years before President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton assumed office.
“Under those eight years, before Obama came along, we didn’t have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack in the United States,” Giuliani said ahead of a speech on foreign policy from Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president. “They all started when Clinton and Obama got into office.”
Some were confused by the claim, given Giuliani was, of course, the mayor of New York City at the time of the Sept. 11 attack in 2001. In fact, in the wake of the assault, Giuliani emerged as “America’s mayor.” He was called out on Twitter for the technicality.
https://twitter.com/JamilSmith/status/765254546159378432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Obviously Giuliani knows that 9/11 happened. The framing around Trump sounds weirdly—even when it's unintentional—like life started in 2008.
— Katherine Miller (@katherinemiller) August 15, 2016
Giuliani’s comments were intended to offer praise to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Trump’s vice presidential running mate, for his work in Congress after 9/11.
“He’s a member of the Foreign Affairs and Judiciary committees, and during the time of Sept. 11, when we went through the worst foreign attack in our history, since the War of 1812,” the former mayor said.