Giuliani Didn't 'Forget' 9/11

Rudy Giuliani found himself the subject of plenty of angry headlines Monday, and many sounded much like that of the New York Daily News: "Rudy Giuliani forgets about 9/11." The former NYC mayor—whose tenure included 9/11—was in Youngstown, Ohio, to introduce Donald Trump at a campaign event, and said these lines: "Under those eight years, before Obama came along, we didn’t have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack inside the United States. They all started when Clinton and Obama got into office." Obama took office on Jan. 20, 2009, leading many outlets to point out that the eight years prior included the 9/11 attacks. How it's playing out:

• CNN reports that Giuliani had only moments before referenced the World Trade Center attacks, and Trump spokesman Jason Miller said Giuliani meant the time between 9/11 and Obama's first day on the job.

• Slate agrees that Giuliani's sin was simple imprecision. Yes, "his phrasing was misleading," but take a look at the context: Giuliani was praising Mike Pence's work on the Patriot Act "with preventing more attacks before pivoting to his remarks about eight years without another attack." He was talking post-9/11, and just said it poorly.
• The Washington Post and Slate flag something they see as more fascinating than the verbal faux pas: As the Post writes, what Giuliani is saying is "actually pretty diametrically opposed" to Trump's campaign stance on America's safety under George W. Bush.
• MSNBC points out Giuliani made a similar gaffe in 2010.
• How's that for timing? The comments coincide with a New Yorker article published Monday that isn't about the Youngstown appearance. The headline: "The Appalling Last Act of Rudy Giuliani."

(More Rudy Giuliani stories.)