Last edited Sun Feb 16, 2020, 05:55 PM - Edit history (1)
Giuliani began as a Democrat, then switched to an independent in the 1970s, then became a Republican in the 1980s. Bloomberg also began as a Democrat, then became a Republican in the 2000s, then switched to an independent for more than a decade. He returned as a Democrat for the 2018 midterms, where he spent $80 million supporting party candidates. Trump was a Republican in 1987, an independent in 1999, a Democrat in 2001, a Republican in 2009, an independent in 2011, and a Republican in 2012. But through it all, Donald was die hard about, well, Donald.
Both Trump and Giuliani shuffled their ideologies like cards in a casino, but give Bloomberg credit. He may have switched parties, but Bloomberg never discarded his principles on key issues like gun safety and climate change. Still, the three New Yorkers do share a proficiency in tactical street smarts, honed at about the same time and in the same place. Even before Trump, Giuliani produced reality television moments to beef up his image. As United States attorney, he timed arrest announcements to break on the evening news, according to the New York Times...
Giuliani preceded Trump in inciting live wire crowds. “Rudy’s Racist Rants” is how the Cato Institute, not exactly a megaphone for liberals, described his behavior during a 1992 riot of off duty cops against David Dinkins, the incumbent African American mayor at the time. Giuliani infamously egged on police as they stormed City Hall, many hurling racial epithets. Giuliani beat Dinkins in 1993. But as he neared the end of his second term in 2001, he was widely unpopular. It looked as if Democratic candidate Mark Green was going to wallop the Republican candidate, Bloomberg.
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Giuliani subsequently rebounded in popularity, and his endorsement of Bloomberg assisted that Republican victory. Before the endorsement, Bloomberg was 16 points behind Green. On election night, Bloomberg won, 50 percent to 47 percent. But there was a political wrinkle. In the aftermath of 9/11, some Giuliani supporters floated the idea of postponing the inauguration of Bloomberg for the sake of continuity. The proposal was quashed, but Giuliani embraced it, irking Bloomberg supporters.
The three have been bound by proximity, ambition, and the unique style of New York competitiveness you see in the Citi Field stands when the Mets play the Phillies. They also share another characteristic of challenging electoral norms. In 2008, Bloomberg convinced the New York City Council to extend term limits so that he could run again. Today, Trump disregards presidential standards in pursuit of whatever cravenness excites him at the moment. Giuliani has gone from federal prosecutor who upheld the rules to feral defender of a president who stomps on them
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/470268-the-bizarre-circle-of-donald-trump-rudy-giuliani-and-mike-bloomberg
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