Rudy Giuliani Falsely Claims There Were No “Radical Islamic Terror” Attacks In The Eight Years Before Obama’s Presidency

AP: Giuliani’s “Apparent Omission” Of Terror Attack That “Launched [Him] Into National Political Stardom” Was “Puzzling.” The Associated Press reported that former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani, while promoting Trump’s national security plan, said that in the “eight years before (President Barack) Obama came along, we didn't have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack in the United States,” adding that Giuliani’s term as mayor of New York City during 9/11 make his comment “all the more puzzling” and resulted in his being “lampooned on social media.” From the August 15 report:

Rudolph Giuliani, promoting Donald Trump's national security plan, said Monday that in the “eight years before (President Barack) Obama came along, we didn't have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack in the United States.” That's an apparent omission of the largest terror attack in United States history.

Giuliani was mayor of New York City on Sept. 11, 2001 and in the hours after the World Trade Center fell, while then-President George W. Bush was largely unseen, he became the face of American grief and determination. His brave and graceful performance in the weeks after the towers' collapse earned him the nickname “America's mayor” and he was soon launched into national political stardom, his name synonymous with the response to the attacks. That made his comments Monday all the more puzzling.

“Under those eight years, before Obama came along, we didn't have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack in the United States. They all started when Clinton and Obama got into office,” Giuliani said ahead of Trump's speech on national security.

The eyebrow-raising comments, which were immediately lampooned on social media, were a far cry from Giuliani's usual speeches, which are often peppered with references to the resolve New Yorkers displayed after the attacks. In fact, his discussions of the attacks were so common that Vice President Joe Biden once said of him there were “only three things he mentions in a sentence: A noun, a verb and 9/11.”

[...]

Jake Menges, a spokesman for the former mayor, told The Associated Press on Monday evening that Giuliani was referring to a lack of major attacks during the remainder of Bush's term. [Associated Press, 8/15/16]

Giuliani Made Similar Claim In 2010: “We Had No Domestic Attacks Under Bush. In a January 8, 2010, interview on ABC’s Good Morning America, Rudy Giuliani said, “we had no domestic attacks under Bush. We’ve had one under Obama.” [Media Matters, 1/8/10]

Right-Wing Media Have A History Of Making Similar Claims

Fox's Eric Bolling: “I Don't Remember Any Terrorist Attacks On American Soil” Between 2000 And 2008. On the July 13, 2011, edition of Fox News' The Five, co-host Eric Bolling said, “America was certainly safe between 2000 and 2008. I don't remember any terrorist attacks on American soil during that period of time." [Fox News, The Five, 7/13/11]

Bolling Followed Up: “Obviously, I Meant In The Aftermath Of 9/11.” On the July 14, 2011, edition of The Five, Bolling clarified his previous remark saying, “Yesterday I misspoke when saying there were no U.S. terror attacks during the Bush years. Obviously, I meant in the aftermath of 9/11.” [Media Matters, 7/14/11]

Bolling: “Not Even An Attempt On A Terrorist Attack On American Soil” After 9/11 During Bush's Term. On the August 29, 2011, edition of The Five, Bolling said: “Let me defend Dana’s former boss here for a second. 9/11/01 happens. Not since then, until the end of his term, was there one attempt -- not even an attempt on a terrorist attack on American soil. They kept the place safe.” [Fox News, The Five, 8/29/11]

Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Frederick: All Domestic Terrorist Attacks Since 9/11 Took Place “On Obama's Watch.” Former Las Vegas Review-Journal publisher Sherman Frederick wrote in 2010 that “the two cases of domestic terrorism since 9/11” were “both on Obama's watch.” From Frederick's January 3, 2010, Las Vegas Review-Journal column:

If this is what it takes to wake up Obama to the evils of this world, then he learned an easy lesson. But tell that to the personnel who lost their lives to terrorism at Fort Hood.

Then, as now, the Obama administration fails to swiftly acknowledge the threat. They demur in describing our enemy as radical Muslims. They plan to close the offshore prison for terrorists at Guantanamo Bay and transfer the prisoners to the United States. They give the enemy combatants who killed more than 3,000 people on 9/11 the privilege of a civilian federal trial in New York City when a military tribunal is more appropriate. And for three days our president failed to address his people directly on Abdulmutallab's failed effort to blow up a commercial flight over Detroit on Christmas Day. All of this on top of President Obama's noticeable refusal to characterize our struggle as a “war” on “terror.”

In the wake of fierce criticism, Obama now talks tough about keeping America safe. But in the two cases of domestic terrorism since 9/11 -- both on Obama's watch -- red flags flew aplenty. [Media Matters, 1/06/10]

Fox Contributor Monica Crowley: Bush, Cheney Had “100 Percent Perfect Track Record” In Preventing “Islamic Terrorist Attack.” Fox News contributor Monica Crowley asserted that "[a]fter 9/11, President Bush and Vice President Cheney had a 100 percent perfect track record in keeping the homeland safe from an Islamic terrorist attack." From the January 5, 2010, edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

MONICA CROWLEY: After 9/11, President Bush and Vice President Cheney had a 100 percent perfect track record in keeping the homeland safe from an Islamic terrorist attack. So far this year, we've had numerous attacks.

BILL O'REILLY (HOST): Well, what about the shoe bomber? What about the shoe bomber?

CROWLEY: That was coming into the United States. It was not a domestic terror attack. I mean, it was meant to be, but it was stopped by the folks on the plane. So far this year, we've had a dramatic uptick in the number of attacks that have actually been successful in being carried out. We had the shooting deaths of the U.S. military in Little Rock, Arkansas, left one dead. We had the Fort Hood shootings. We've got the arrest of five Muslim Americans coming out of Washington, D.C., in Pakistan on terrorism charges. And the list goes on. And now, of course, we have this Detroit bombing. [Media Matters, 1/06/2010]

Former Bush White House Secretary Dana Perino Said “We Did Not Have A Terrorist Attack On Our Country During President Bush's Term.” On the November 24, 2009, edition of Fox News' Hannity, former Bush White House Press Secretary and current Fox host Dana Perino falsely claimed that "[w]e did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term." [Fox News, Hannity, 11/24/09]

Fox’s Perino Followed Up On Twitter: “I Obviously Meant No Terror Attack On U.S. Post 9/11 During Bush 2nd Term.”

Last night on Hannity, I obviously meant no terror attack on U.S. post 9/11 during Bush 2nd term. We have the tools, just need to use them!

— Dana Perino (@DanaPerino) November 25, 2009

[Media Matters, 11/25/09]

Fox Contributor Charles Krauthammer: “Seven Years After 9/11, No Successful Attacks In The United States.” On May 3, 2010, Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer asserted that “the Bush administration had seven years after 9/11, no successful attacks in the United States.” [Media Matters, 5/3/10]

Former Fox Host Gretchen Carlson Asked If Benghazi Was “The First Successful Terror Attack Since 9/11.” On the September 17, 2012, edition of Fox & Friends, former Fox host Gretchen Carlson asked of the Benghazi attack, “did the first successful terror attack since 9/11 just happen under President Obama’s watch?” [Media Matters, 9/17/12]

There Were Numerous Other Terror Attacks In The U.S. During The Bush Administration

2001 Anthrax Attacks. A March 2004 State Department report on “Significant Terrorist Incidents, 1961-2003” quotes then-Attorney General John Ashcroft saying of the letters containing anthrax mailed to various targets: “When people send anthrax through the mail to hurt people and invoke terror, it's a terrorist act.” Five people were killed as a result of those letters in the autumn of 2001. [Media Matters, 5/3/10]

2001 Shoe Bomber Attack Attempt. In June 2008, then-Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described Richard Reid's December 2001 attempt “to blow up a trans-Atlantic plane with a shoe bomb” as an attempt to “carry out terrorist operations for Al-Qaeda.” [Media Matters, 1/8/10]

2002 Attack At El Al Ticket Counter At LAX. In July 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet opened fire at an El Al Airlines ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport killing two people and wounding four others before being shot dead. A 2004 Justice Department report stated that Hadayet's case had been “officially designated as an act of international terrorism.” [Media Matters, 1/8/10]

2002 DC-Area Sniper. The state of Virginia indicted Washington, D.C.-area sniper John Allen Muhammad -- along with his accomplice, a minor at the time -- on terrorism charges for one of the murders he committed during a three-week shooting spree across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. [Media Matters, 1/8/10]

2006 UNC SUV Attack. In March 2006, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill graduate Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar drove an SUV into an area of campus, striking nine pedestrians. According to reports, Taheri-azar said he acted because he wanted to “avenge the deaths or murders of Muslims around the world.” Taheri-azar also reportedly stated in a letter: “I was aiming to follow in the footsteps of one of my role models, Mohammad Atta, one of the 9/11/01 hijackers, who obtained a doctorate degree.” [Media Matters, 1/8/10]