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Giuliani on Sick 9/11 Workers: 'I Have That Same Risk'

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August 10, 2007 2:53 PM

ABC News' Jan Simmonds reports: '08 Republican presidential candidate former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, D-N.Y., on Friday attempted to clarify comments he made equating himself with 9/11 recovery workers, some of whom facing health problems stemming from their work.

"I was at ground zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers ... I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I'm one of them," Giuliani told reporters in Cincinnati Thursday.

Giuliani's comments angered the head of the the union of NYPD detectives, who told the AP that the Mayor's record can't compare to those who spent 12 months sifting through toxic debris for evidence and human remains.

Giuliani attempted to clarify his comments Friday morning, reiterating that he faces the same health risk as the 9/11 recovery workers.

"It is a major concern of mine, the health of the workers there at Ground Zero," Giuliani said on the Mike Gallagher syndicated radio show. "What I was trying to say yesterday is that I empathize with them because I feel like I have that same risk."

Giuliani said he should have expressed himself better.

"The way I said it, I probably could have said it better, but what I was trying to say was, I was there quite a bit, there are people that were there more than me, people that were [there] less than me. There were people there less than me, people on my staff, who already have had serious health consequences and they weren't there as often as I was," Giuliani said, "but I wasn't trying to suggest a competition of any kind, which is the way it come across. And I think I could have said it better. You know, what I was saying was 'I'm there with you.'"

Giuliani reiterated Friday that he, too, may get sick from the time he spent at Ground Zero following the attacks.

"I was there often enough so that every health consequence that people have suffered, I could also be suffering. People on my staff were there with me. Some of them weren't there as often as I was and some of them have gotten sick already," he said.

"People who have been exposed to that risk down there are entitled to be taken care of. They're entitled to get compensation. We should give them everything. I mean they are heroes in my estimation," Giuliani said, "and what I was trying to say was even those that were there less than me and the reality is that we're all in this together and I'm there with them and I feel that I have the same concerns that they have."

Giuliani's controversial comments may give fodder to those who have criticized his handling of the attacks on New York.

The former mayor has come under fire from first responders and relatives of those killed at the World Trade Center, who have said the former Mayor was unprepared for 9/11.

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) released a 13-minute video on the Internet in July, urging its members to oppose Giuliani's bid for the presidency, questioning his leadership both before and in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks.

August 10, 2007 in Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (46)

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Rudy is a totally self-centered man who has let the political power he has MINED from his influential position GET TO HIS HEAD. What a shame that the GOP must resort to the likes of these cretins as front runners. The GOP has obviously imploded from the weight of its own cheap ego.

Posted by: NYMayoralDisaster | Aug 11, 2007 12:02:18 AM

Giuliani is a Hero for New Yorkers. He made this city livable. He can make
our country be proud again. And yes he was the one who stood up when it was a danger whether liberals like it or not.

Posted by: lucky looser | Aug 11, 2007 2:11:28 AM

He looks like he's already sick. He'd better not run for president. He reminds me of a mortician.

He likes photo-ops just like King George does. They like to pretend they've done some "hard work" too......haha. What a couple of clowns they are.

Posted by: Kristen | Aug 11, 2007 3:51:47 AM

Im just glad the creep fried himself !
Rudy !! if you read this "Give up"
you have no hopes to be our leader!
You are untrusty !!
If you cant keep a wife, how can you run our government !!
Thanks for Proving yourself, yet again, LMAO

Posted by: Stan | Aug 11, 2007 7:28:05 AM

taking credit for something that he didn't do? all he did was stand by bush for photo op for the incident. anybody could do that. what a loser.

Posted by: marc | Aug 11, 2007 9:05:51 AM

I call BS Amber - if you were a REAL New Yorker, you would know that it was really Bill Bratton that cleaned up crime in New York. Rudy just fired him and took the credit for it. Also, the only reason you saw Rudy in a hard hat on 9/11 is because, as Robby G pointed out, he did indeed build his command bunker into the World Trade Center after it had already been attacked once. Sorry Amber, but we real New Yorkers know better than to fall for Rudy's blustery BS ever again. Now President Bloomberg... that sounds great to me.

Posted by: James | Aug 11, 2007 9:24:26 AM

Lori - like most conservatives, you oversimplify the issue at the expense of the truth. Rudy didn't "clean up" New York - he exploited police commissioner William Bratton's hard work, then fired him and took credit for it. Likewise, he exploited nationwide trends of urban renewl and took credit for that as well. Meanwhile, he left a huge budget deficit and the MTA and the school system a complete mess.

Also, the proper adjectival construction of the word "democrat" is "democratic." But you'll learn that - and plenty of other lessons - soon enough when we Dems take back the White House next year.

Posted by: Ali_K | Aug 11, 2007 9:30:15 AM

Joe Lhota said ""They're taking their anger out in the wrong direction. He was literally there four and five times a day; he did anything but run away.

"They're losing sight of the fact that this country, and this city, was attacked on that day by terrorists; it's their fault. Rudy Giuliani coordinated efforts in this city like no one had ever seen before."

Posted by: Chas | Aug 11, 2007 9:41:27 AM

Rudy never brought the NYPD or the FDNY up to speed to be able to handle a skyscraper disaster. The radios did not work in 1993 and were never replaced.

Yes, he did stay at Ground Zero and I will not in any way berate his courage or leadership that day. But his administrative skills pre-911 in not making changes after the 1993 bombing speaks to a lack of foresight and perhaps an inability top prioritize.

Posted by: MaureenMcM | Aug 11, 2007 10:26:25 AM

There seems to be a peculiar phenomenon going on this election season. If you'll notice, all the Democrat candidates have been recently photographed, walking around the streets of this country, bent at the waist, staring at the ground. It was later established that this was their earnest attempt to find a clue - unfortunately, to no avail.

Posted by: Chas | Aug 11, 2007 10:52:05 AM

Giuliani didn't say he was a good catholic, he said that was between him and the priests. And he is right. Who are we to judge his faith? Only God has the right the judge, and we don't know what God and he have discussed. Many people make mistakes. Not every catholic is a "good catholic" or a "good christian." Sin and temptation are always around us. PLUS, I may not like abortion and would never have one myself, plus I am a republican, but I am still Pro-Abortion because it is not my place to tell a woman what she can and cant do with her own body. That decision is between her and God.
If fidelity equaled good presidents than Kennedy, FDR, Clinton, and many others would have been horrid presidents.

Posted by: Amber | Aug 11, 2007 10:59:02 AM

Perhaps he's concerned if he gets ill he may not receive the same care as others due to lacking national health care policies. Seriously, can anyone really think his experience as an attorney,mayor of a troubled city, his role in 9/11 and a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth, qualifies him to be leader of this nation? A man who married a second cousin only to end in divorce, blocked education reform, appointment of friends to political offices, one of which ended in a 5 year sentence for fraud and possession of child porn. Appointed to an Iraq study committee and then never showed up, then asked to resign. Questionable lobbying tactics. Give me a break, if he's the best candidate to be offered up on the Republican plate, we're all in trouble, more than we are now.

Posted by: GC | Aug 11, 2007 11:49:21 AM

I guess its a free world, you can post anything stupid that you dont have a clue about...
Rudys a creep and everyone is starting to notice, I love it !!!
Waiste your hard earned dollars, lol and keep running !!!
its a joke that he's running for pres.
LMAO
Stan in OH. , Dont need to be in NY to know rudys a creep !!!

Posted by: Stan | Aug 11, 2007 11:50:03 AM

sorry chas, amber's the lost one, my mistake.

Posted by: Stan | Aug 11, 2007 12:02:48 PM

Ali, Ali, when will you ever learn? We don't call 'em the Democrat party because we don't know adjectival forms. We call 'em the Democrat party because there's nothing democratic about them.

Posted by: Stoic Patriot | Aug 11, 2007 12:29:07 PM

What is this guy smoking? Spending a few hours in the vicinity of Ground Zero is a bit different from being at Ground Zero, in the buildings, digging in the ruins, for weeks. Not to mention the fact that Giuliani can afford the best medical care while most people can only afford to get sick and die.

Why doesn't the Republican party have real heros? Why do they always have to try and invent some out of tissue paper?

Posted by: Tammy stickers | Aug 11, 2007 2:59:51 PM

Giuliani is a creepy little short guy trying, loudly, to pretend he's a big shot. No wonder he's own kids don't even support him.

Posted by: Jhopolong | Aug 11, 2007 3:51:21 PM

Haven't we all has enough?! Third Party NOW!

Posted by: geddesman | Aug 11, 2007 4:16:33 PM

Mayor Bloomberg will you please enter the race as a THIRD PARTY candidate (and take Ralph Nader as your VP) and remove this "SICKO" from the headlines! Why doesn't anybody show how Rudy's wealth has gone through the roof since 9/11 as he has proclaimed himself the King of Security and has raked in millions as a consultant!
How dare this lunatic put himself on the level of the first responders in the Fire and Police Departments!

Posted by: geddesman | Aug 11, 2007 5:13:03 PM

If Giuliani thinks he can get elected just because he spent one day running around with a megaphone...he must really think Americans are primitive idiots. And he's probably right. Just look at who's been "president" for almost eight years.

Posted by: wilder5121 | Aug 11, 2007 6:20:02 PM

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