Rudy Giuliani will stick with a New York Republican (sort of) when he casts his ballot in the New York primary next week. The former mayor told the New York Post Thursday that he is voting for Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.
Giuliani, however, stopped short of saying that he was formally endorsing the New York real estate tycoon. Giuliani’s support for Trump seems surprising—especially in light of comments Giuliani made, accusing Trump of “exaggerating” when he claimed New Jersey Muslims were celebrating in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. But his backing for Trump is not necessarily uncharacteristic. Giuliani and Trump are good friends, going back far enough that the Internet has footage of Donald Trump manhandling Rudy Giuliani dressed in drag from a 2000 charity roast. And like New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who also endorsed Trump, Giuliani seems to favor Trump’s big government approach to crime and city management.
Giuliani did step away from Trump’s comments about immigration and trade, claiming that Trump can’t be taken at his word: “Trump is a negotiator. He negotiates from a high bar to get people’s attention. Threatening to withdraw from NATO will get a better deal with NATO,” Giuliani said. The distance is good for Giuliani, as Trump’s supporters would be hard-pressed to embrace Giuliani’s support of New York’s Sanctuary City policy while he was mayor.
So why here, why now and why Trump? Here’s one reason: Chris Christie is now noticeably missing from Trump campaign events, having been a less-than-stellar surrogate, and Rudy Giuliani, a native New Yorker, East Coast-er and familiar, beloved face to most Republicans, could be perfect to fill the void. And in return, Rudy, who has been absent from the political scene for some time now, likely gets an extended political shelf life—and, if the Presidency materializes for Donald Trump, an extended career in public service.
