I'm going to be honest. I don't see 'America's Mayor'. I believe Giuliani got lucky in the aftermath of 9/11 and was the beneficiary of major media hype because America was itself hurting, confused, scared, and wounded. Americans desperately needed leadership and he certainly got in front of the cameras to at least lend the appearance of it.
And on the back of that, he sought to monetize his experience any way he could.
BUT before 9/11 there was also stop and frisk, broken windows policing, corruption, civil liberties violations, poor race relations, policies designed to harm the homeless population, racial profiling and his willingness to associate and defend some very, very nefarious actors.
In March of 2000 a Black unarmed security officer - and father of two - was shot to death by undercover police who claimed he'd attacked them after they propositioned him to buy drugs. A witness stated the officers started the fight and didn't identify themselves. After his death, Giuliani approved the release of the victim's (Patrick Dorismond) sealed juvenile delinquency record and stated publicly that Mr. Dorismond was no altar boy - only he actually was. He'd attended the same Catholic school as Giuliani and was indeed an altar boy. The city settled a suit brought by Mr. Dorismond's family for $2.25 million in 2003.
So, I think Rudy's always been a bad person who just lucked out from time to time. Much the same as Donald Trump - who with the help of media and a television show - convinced millions of Americans he was successful, rich, capable, and qualified to be president.
On a side note - I wonder how much Giuliani and Trump's psychology has been influenced by them not feeling they were receiving their due. By most accounts, losing in the presidential primary in 2008 did real damage to Rudy's psyche. By the way, Rudy spent a month at Mar-a-Lago recuperating after he ended his campaign. Birds of a feather and all that.
JMO
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