Gregory, Byron York repeated myth of Giuliani as 9-11 hero, omitting criticism

On the May 11 edition of NBC's Today, NBC News chief White House correspondent David Gregory said of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Republican presidential candidate: "To many, 9-11 made Giuliani a hero." Later in the same segment, Gregory aired a clip of National Review White House correspondent Byron York asserting that Giuliani might "convince" conservative voters who oppose his abortion positions "to still vote for him because he's so strong on issues of national security." Neither Gregory nor those quoted in his report took note of the serious questions surrounding Giuliani's record on the issues of terrorism and national security, which Media Matters for America has repeatedly documented.

The view that Giuliani acted heroically before, during, and after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has been strongly disputed:

• On the May 1 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, HBO host Bill Maher said that "[a]ll of the experts told him [Giuliani] to move the command-and-control center out of the World Trade Center. He put it in the World Trade Center." Maher added: "He's not a terrorism fighter. He has no credentials in this."
• In their book, Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11 (HarperCollins, August 2006), Wayne Barrett and CBSNews.com senior producer Dan Collins cited several of what they presented as Giuliani's security-related failures, as Media Matters noted, including "the lack of interoperable radios" between the New York fire and police departments, which they wrote "became ... a focus of fury" (Page 343). On 9-11, the New York City fire department was using outdated VHF radios that were incompatible with the police department's UHF radios.
• A March 14 New York Times article reported that Harold A. Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said, "The whole issue of the radios is unforgivable. ... Everyone knew they needed a better system, and he [Giuliani] didn't get it done."
• Similarly, in an April 25 speech, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) appeared to attack Giuliani's record on emergency preparedness, as blogger Atrios (Media Matters Senior Fellow Duncan Black) noted and Media Matters documented. New York Times reporters Adam Nagourney and Michael Cooper wrote: "McCain sought to undercut what had been the former mayor's biggest political claim to fame -- his stewardship of New York City after the attacks of Sept. 11 -- by noting the problems with firefighters' radios on the day of the attack." McCain later denied that he was specifically referring to Giuliani.

Gregory's assertion -- "To many, 9-11 made Giuliani a hero" -- reflects a larger media pattern of asserting, as Giuliani's political strength, 9-11, terrorism, or national security without noting relevant facts. As Media Matters has noted, media figures have repeatedly touted Giuliani's reputation as "America's mayor" and the "hero of 9-11" despite the controversies that have marked his political career, including his handling of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

From the May 11 edition of NBC's Today:

GREGORY: Later today, Giuliani is expected to reaffirm his support for abortion rights during a speech in an attempt to butt the conventional wisdom that a Republican seeking the White House cannot win the nomination with pro-choice views.

[begin video clip]

GREGORY: To many, 9-11 made Giuliani a hero -- and on the campaign trail, that's his topic of choice.

GIULIANI: The only way to keep us safe and the only way to give us a chance to win this is to be on offense against them. No more defense for the United States of America.

GREGORY: Giuliani may want to talk about terror but, increasingly, conservatives want to talk about his stance on abortion.

[...]

GREGORY: But Giuliani is getting tired of all the grilling on the topic, sounding irritated with talk show host Laura Ingraham this week.

[begin audio clip]

GIULIANI: I would love to come back, but you -- you're gonna have to ask me about the war on terror and what we do about that --

INGRAHAM: Yeah, we will.

GIULIANI: -- which is after all what most -- what most citizens ask me about --

INGRAHAM: Well, conservatives are citizens too, Mayor Giuliani.

[end audio clip]

YORK: I think there's going to be some part of the Republican electorate that he's never going to win over on abortion, and the question is: "Can he convince them to still vote for him because he's so strong on issues of national security?"

[end video clip]

GREGORY: Abortion is proving to be a hot button issue in this campaign at this juncture and Giuliani is not the only one on the defensive.