© Provided by SalonRudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani, former advisor to former President Donald Trump, attends the annual Memorial Day Parade on May 30, 2022 in the Staten Island borough of New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Days before the 21st anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, Rudy Giuliani appeared on Newsmax to discuss what it was like to serve as Mayor of New York City during that time. Looking back at the events that transpired after two planes flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Giuliani describes his feelings as "complex."
"I guess the best way to describe it is it was the worst day of my life and in some ways, you know, the greatest day of my life in terms of my city, my country, my family," Giuliani says.
Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani reflects on 9/11:
"It was the worst day of my life and in some ways, you know, the greatest day of my life." pic.twitter.com/rGOHl7LsVW
Related
"It was the worst foreign attack on this country since the war of 1812," Giuliani continued. "It was a complete surprise. It was an attack on completely innocent people and I watched it first-hand."
Describing the first "shocking incident" the former mayor witnessed after the attacks, Giuliani recalls seeing a man jump 101 floors from one of the towers.
"I was transfixed by it," Giuliani says. "All the things that go through your head - why is he doing it? How did he make that choice? Oh my God, can I stop it . . . can I grab him? And then all of a sudden he hit the ground and I watched what happened to his body, which I will not describe."
Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.
Giuliani recalls feeling the need to throw out any pre-conceived emergency plans and trudge forward based on instincts alone, and then praying to God that they all hopefully made the right decisions.
"The thing that sticks with me always is the image of the people coming in in the morning to work," Giuliani says. "From people delivering bagels, to people opening up their complicated computer programs, to people just opening little stores. Completely innocent people having nothing to do with the insanity of this attack."
What the full interview segment below:
Read more
about this topic