Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz on Thursday denounced former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for saying President Obama does not “love America,” and she challenged Republican leaders to disavow the remarks.
Speaking to a gathering of state party leaders at the DNC’s winter meeting in Washington, Mrs. Shultz had just finished mocking the field of potential Republican presidential candidates when she pointed to Mr. Giuliani as an example of how deeply Republicans detest Mr. Obama.
“For six years the Republican Party has been defined by one thing and one thing only — opposite to President Obama,” she said. “For them it’s more than that, it’s personal and it’s ugly, and there is no sign of it getting better.”
Politico reported that Mr. Giuliani told guests at a private dinner in Manhattan that he didn’t believe the president loved the country.
“I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America,” he said. “He doesn’t love you. And he doesn’t love me. He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country.”
Mrs. Shultz, a congresswoman from Florida, quoted Mr. Giuliani and then frowned at the crowd: “Let that sink in a moment. A leader of the Republican Party said the president doesn’t love us and doesn’t love the country. … Is this what it has come to? Really?”
SEE ALSO: Rudy Giuliani on Obama: I don’t believe he ‘loves America’
Mrs. Shultz noted that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is eyeing a 2016 White House run, was at the event with Mr. Giuliani.
“One of the GOP frontrunners was sitting just feet away and didn’t say anything,” she said.
She said that all the potential Republican presidential candidates “should stand up and say, ’Enough.’ … They need to start leading.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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