Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, announced Tuesday he is entering the 2022 New York governor’s race.
The younger Mr. Giuliani made the announcement at The Battery in southern Manhattan, which has views of the Statue of Liberty, and posted a swagger-filled ad to kickstart his bid.
The two-minute spot characterizes New York as a beacon of liberty that’s been held down by Democratic politicians who “quarantined healthy people” during the COVID-19 pandemic and is letting industries wither while criminals “run free.”
“It’s time for a change. Like my parents before me, New York is in my blood,” Mr. Giuliani says in the ad. “I know who we are, what we can be and where we need to go. We tell it like it is and we never back down.”
The new candidate made his public debut in 1994 during his father’s swearing-in as mayor.
Standing behind his dad, he demonstratively held up his hand during the oath of office and pantomimed the new mayor’s speech from the lectern. Actor Chris Farley did a skit about it on Saturday Night Live.
Now 35, Andrew Giuliani worked as a special assistant in former President Donald Trump’s White House and emerged as a vocal defender of his father, whose residence and offices were raided by federal law enforcement as part of a probe into his dealings in Ukraine. The elder Mr. Giuiliani was serving as Mr. Trump’s lawyer while entangled in Eastern Europe.
Andrew Giuliani would be taking on Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who may seek a fourth term as he battles harassment allegations and questions around his treatment of nursing home patients during the COVID-19 crisis.
“I’m a politician out of the womb. It’s in my DNA,” Mr. Giuliani told The New York Post. “Giuliani vs. Cuomo. Holy smokes. It’s Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier. We can sell tickets at Madison Square Garden.”
He would first have to get through a GOP primary against Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Long Island-area lawmaker who is loyal to Mr. Trump, and former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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