The answer, says Andrew Kirtzman, is age. The waning crisis and the terror of irrelevance have driven him to the extremes, but he has always been aggressive and controversial, and his friendship with Trump goes back decades. The subject of this interesting biography was born in 1944 to working-class Italian-Americans in Brooklyn, New York. His father did time for armed robbery. Rudy threw himself into the law and became a famous prosecutor, targeting the mafia, and in 1993 he was elected mayor of New York on the Republican ticket. He ran to the left on social issues like abortion and gay rights – and his colorful character complimented New York’s reputation as a hot mess. To escape a crumbling marriage, the mayor took in a gay couple. “In the mornings, Mark would make breakfast for Giuliani and Howard would help him sort out his ties. When he left for work, he would give them both a kiss on the cheek.” But his real draw was his tough stance on crime in a city plagued by drugs, homelessness and capital flight. Giuliani relentlessly implemented the “broken windows” strategy, which argued that urban decay fueled social unrest – so if you want safe roads, then you must show zero tolerance for even petty crimes like fare evasion. Arrests increased by a quarter in the first two years alone. Kirtzman, a reporter who covered the town hall, doesn’t deny the results were surprising — something Sadiq Khan or Suella Braverman could learn from today. When Giuliani left office “crime dropped almost 60 percent,” the murder rate even more. Taxes were the lowest in 30 years. tourism flourished. the population “passed the highest point in its history”. To liberal intellectuals, the city felt “totalized”—nightclubs closed, sex shops closed—and cops were accused of racism, sparking protests that foreshadowed Black Lives Matter. And yet Kirtzman throws in a statistic that debunks the narrative: “police shootings … were at an all-time low.” The policy was probably less controversial with the average voter than the personality behind it. Giuliani occasionally played the race card, and when an innocent man was killed by the police, he smeared the victim. One can see why local real estate developer Donald Trump was a fan. In 2000, Trump filmed a skit with Rudy for an annual review, in which Rudy appeared in drag and Trump abused his fake breasts. “Dirty boy, you!” shouted the mayor of New York and slapped the future president of the United States in the face. However, he was undeniably a serious figure. When planes hit the World Trade Center. Kirchman watched Giuliani direct emergency services from the streets, calm and authoritative. The episode gave him a stature that rivaled even President Bush. He was awarded an honorary knighthood by the Queen. So imagine people’s surprise when he reappeared at the 2016 Republican convention, having apparently moved far to the right, frothing at the mouth and shouting “we have no more time to revive our great country!”. Rudy didn’t seem like a natural trumpeter. when his friend first entered the race, he dismissed the campaign as a publicity stunt. But Trump wanted the best, he still respected who Rudy was in the 90s – so he reached out and secured his support. Currency was relevant. Of Giuliani, a friend said, “It was something that had to be done.” He was suddenly back in the political spotlight and “the chemistry between the two men was terrific… They were like two old lions who enjoyed hanging out together on the campaign plane.” If Trump had a role model, Rudy was this: “his use of bombast as a weapon, his relentless attacks on his critics and the media … His style set the standard for Trump’s view of the presidency.” The problem was that Trump was already Trump enough. Adding Rudy to his White House was just more fuel to the fire. It was Giuliani who, in an interview, casually admitted that Trump knew his director had paid a porn actress. Giuliani pouncing on the Ukraine/Maiden conspiracy theory that sent his boss down a rabbit hole that would end in impeachment. “This is Rudy,” the President shrugged. Towards the end of the administration, Giuliani’s second wife described an encounter with her ex: “He looked so old and so fat … His teeth needed to be replaced … His glasses were so dirty.” One might dismiss Kirtzman’s focus on his subject’s physical decline as mean and partisan – don’t all ex-wives say that? – but borne out by what we all saw in the days after the 2020 election, when he became the most prominent proponent of the “electoral theft” theory. “He had zero regard for whether something was real or not,” complained one Trump aide. It was obvious why his boss was listening, but why was Giuliani spouting such nonsense? The bottom line is disappointing: “His political and financial future, even his escape from prosecution” now depended on Trump staying in power, and he couldn’t see how bleak the scenario was because he had surrounded himself in an aura virtue. Rudy believed that Rudy was always right. The same remarkable confidence that saw him clean up New York and lead it to 9/11 also pushed him to the brink of self-destruction. Giuliani: The Rise and Fall of America’s Mayor is published by Simon & Schuster for £20. To order your copy for £16.99 call 0844 871 1514 or visit Telegraph books
