The son of former New York mayor and Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani received no support for his bid to be the next governor of New York in a secret vote by local Republican leaders this week.
In May, Andrew Giuliani announced he was seeking the GOP nomination for the 2022 contest, claiming he was a born politico. “I’m a politician out of the womb,” he said. “It’s in my DNA.”
But leaders of the New York Republican Party are not feeling it.
As the Democrat & Chronicle reported, Giuliani, who served in the White House under ex-President Donald Trump, received no votes from GOP county chairs or members of the Republican state committee at a straw poll in Albany on Monday.
According to the New York GOP, more people chose to abstain – 10% – than vote for Giuliani, who has described his views as “very, very similar” to the former president he served.
US Congressman Lee Zeldin led the way with 85% of the vote, followed by former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino with 5%, the party announced.
Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, had some things to say about his father’s recent troubles – and a vaguely familiar place from which to say them.
In a video statement shared on Twitter, Andrew responded to the news from a nondescript parking lot adjacent to lush greenery, strategically framed between two SUVs. The frame only just captured his head shoulders, letting the setting shine.
“A few minutes ago, my father’s law license was suspended,” Andrew said before listing off the names of the judges who ruled in Rudy’s case and accusing them of bias. “This is just unbelievable to see just how politicised all of this has become.”
-Andrew H. Giuliani (@AndrewHGiuliani) June 24, 2021
The court said Rudy’s license was suspended because there was “uncontroverted evidence” that he made “demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public at large” as he fought tooth and nail to overturn the 2020 election for former president Donald Trump.
“Any American that believes in an independent justice system, this is going after one of President Trump’s closest allies, that’s exactly what this is,” Andrew continued. “Any american that doesn’t believe that, they are just biased.”
“I stand by my father. He did everything, ultimately, by the book,” he said.
The statement was reminiscent of an infamous press conference given by Rudy from another remarkable parking lot.
Attorney for President Trump, Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media at a press conference held in the back parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping on November 7, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
On November 7, days after election day, Rudy spoke to reporters from the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping, a small landscaping firm on the outskirts of Philadelphia, situated between a crematorium and a sex shop. Rudy was informed during the event that the presidential race had been called for Joe Biden.
The strange location choice led some to speculate the Trump campaign had booked the locale by accident, meaning to book the Four Seasons luxury hotel. People online were quick to make jokes about the press conference, another similarity shared with Andrew’s latest statement.
One Twitter user added an overlay to Andrew’s video to make it appear as though he was standing at a Taco Bell drive-thru window as he spoke, captioning the meme with: “Sir, this is a Taco Bell.”
-πPOOKY πOππΎπ πππΌππΎππ β’πΊπΈ (@FrancisWegner) June 25, 2021
His father, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, has not held office for 20 years, although he remains a prominent figure in national politics as one of former President Donald Trump’s most loyal allies. Andrew said his family name could bolster his campaign and thinks it “evokes a reaction in most people.”
The Republican candidate and former Trump White House aide also said he plans to use guidance from his father to help his run. “If I didn’t use him as an asset, as an adviser, as somebody who I’d rely on, I’d be foolish,” Andrew told the outlet.
But the report also delves into Andrew’s strained relationship with Rudy. After his parents divorced and Rudy remarried in 2003, Andrew went through “long stretches” of his life in which the pair hardly spoke.
Heather McBride, Andrew’s former babysitter and now his campaign spokesman, told the magazine that Rudy is not a member of “the 12-member family group chat that includes extended Giuliani relatives and close friends.”
Still, Andrew has grown to stay by his father’s side, the report says. Andrew spoke out on his behalf in April when federal agents executed search warrants on Rudy’s home and office and seized his electronic devices, per New York Magazine.
“He’s a tough guy. He can take anything,” he told the magazine. “And what he knows is he’s got his son backing him.”
GOP officials and associates close to Giuliani’s family are unsure why Andrew has decided to run for governor, especially in a state where Democrats are virtually guaranteed to win. Some are convinced it has to do with his father.
“There’s pain and daddy issues that exist beneath this,” an unnamed source close to Rudy told New York Magazine.
Even given the remote odds of the eventual Republican nominee becoming the first to win statewide since 2002 – when Republican Gov. George Pataki unseated Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo, denying him a fourth term – Giuliani is reportedly not the favored candidate.
Andrew Giuliani declared his candidacy for the 2022 New York governor’s race on Tuesday, joining Rep. Lee Zeldin of Long Island in the Republican primary contest.
Giuliani, 35, is the son of Rudy Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and embattled personal attorney for former President Donald Trump.
Following in a longstanding tradition of dynastic political families in the Empire State, Giuliani leaned into his familial ties when discussing his campaign in an interview with the New York Post.
“I’m a politician out of the womb,” he said. “It’s in my DNA.”
“Giuliani vs. Cuomo. Holy smokes,” Giuliani said. “It’s Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier. We can sell tickets at Madison Square Garden.”
“It would be one of the epic showdowns in the state’s history,” he added later on.
Giuliani’s most recent political experience came in the Trump White House, where he worked as a Special Assistant to the president and associate director of the Office of Public Liaison.
If Giuliani prevails over Zeldin in the GOP primary – where a Trump endorsement could prove highly consequential given the former president’s standing among Upstate and Long Island Republicans, which has dropped since the January 6 insurrection – he would face steep odds against Cuomo or any other Democrat.
