Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has fired back at critics of his comments toward President Obama.
“My blunt language suggesting that the president doesn’t love America notwithstanding, I didn’t intend to question President Obama’s motives or the content of his heart,” Giuliani wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Sunday evening. “My intended focus really was the effect his words and his actions have on the morale of the country, and how that effect may damage his performance.”
Giuliani has faced heat after statements he made last week questioning Obama’s upbringing and love for America.
“I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the President loves America. 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,” he said.
Giuliani sought to clarify his broader message in the op-ed.
Obama needs to start “acting and speaking in a way that draws sharp, clear distinctions between us and those who threaten our way of life,” Giuliani wrote, while painting the 44th president in an unfavorable light compared to former presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.
“I hope and pray that President Obama can rise to the occasion and underscore America’s greatness as our history and values merit.”
Giuliani has held strong on his original comments, which were made during a private dinner for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker last week in New York City — comments that have put Walker, along with other potential 2016 GOPers, in an awkward situation.
The firestorm around the comments don’t seem to be going away any time soon. The Republican and failed presidential candidate told CNN Saturday he has been receiving death threats because of his comments – but refuses to recant them.
“I don’t regret making the statement. I believe it,” Giuliani said. “I don’t know if he loves America,” he added. “I don’t feel the same enthusiasm from him for America.”
