Giuliani Thought NYC Hit Rock Bottom With DeBlasio. Then Came Mamdani.

Rudy Giuliani is sharply criticizing New York City politics and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, arguing that the city he once led is moving away from the reforms and identity he fought to build during his tenure as mayor.

Speaking in on “Pod Force One”, Giuliani said his reaction to the current direction of the city is emotional and personal, describing it as “heartbroken” and rooted in decades of attachment to New York.

????NEW: Rudy Giuliani on Zohran Mamdani????????

“My heart is broken.”

“I didn’t think it could get worse than de Blasio. I really didn’t. I thought, ‘Well, that’s it. Now we had the worst mayor.’ WOW!” pic.twitter.com/kEyUoIKnoe

— Jason Cohen ???????? (@JasonJournoDC) April 12, 2026

“The situation with New York, in a pure way, was a love affair,” Giuliani said. “I love New York. I love the city. I love what I did as mayor. I put my whole heart and soul into it.”

He added that his connection to the city goes beyond politics. “A lot of people love New York, but nobody loves it more than I do,” he said, pointing to his lifelong identity as a fan of the Yankees, Knicks, and Rangers as part of that bond.

Giuliani, who served as mayor from 1994 to 2001 and is widely credited with a major drop in crime during that period, said he believes the city is now in decline under its current leadership.

“I just think New York is potentially the greatest city on Earth and has been,” he said. “And what he’s doing to it … I didn’t think it could get worse than de Blasio. I really didn’t. I thought, well, that’s it. Now he had the worst mayor. Wow.”

Giuliani then escalated his criticism, framing Mamdani’s politics as part of a broader ideological threat. “He combines two things that I have been studying and fighting against since I was a child,” Giuliani said. “He’s a communist and he’s a violent supporter of violent Muslim religion.”

He went on to reference his early academic study of comparative religion, saying he had examined Islamic texts from a young age and concluded that they promoted violence in ways he found deeply troubling. He also stressed that he believes most Muslims are peaceful, while warning against what he sees as silence from within the broader community.

“The vast majority of Muslims are good people … but Muslims don’t stand up,” he said. “That’s what happens … good men do nothing.”

Giuliani extended his criticism beyond New York, warning about what he sees as broader cultural and political shifts in Western cities, suggesting that similar dynamics are emerging in Europe as well. Joking about a comment he made to Piers Morgan, “Charles the Third is gonna become an Imam.”

At the center of his remarks was a broader warning about what he views as ideological extremism taking hold in urban leadership, and a call for renewed political opposition to it.

Giuliani closed by reiterating his deep personal connection to New York and his belief that the city’s future is at risk if current trends continue, framing his comments as both a political critique and a personal lament for a city he once led through crisis and rebuilding.