Giuliani hits out at Biden ahead of September 11 anniversary saying he has made it ‘excruciating’

The former mayor of New York made the accusations on Twitter

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has lashed out at President Joe Biden, accusing him of making the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States ‘excruciating.’

Mr Giuliani posted a tweet on the eve of the 20th anniversary of September 11, saying: “Biden has made the 20th anniversary much more excruciating than ever before. It would be as if on 9/11, I removed FDNY and NYPD and told the civilians to fend for themselves or get terrorists to help. He is a disgrace.”

It was not immediately clear what the mayor was making reference to, although he followed up with another tweet about 10 minutes later, appearing to connect his statement to the recent withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

Biden has made the 20th anniversary much more excruciating than ever before. It would be as if on 9/11, I removed FDNY and NYPD and told the civilians to fend for themselves or get terrorists to help. He is a disgrace .

— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) September 10, 2021

“Biden left Americans in Afghanistan,” he wrote.

On Saturday, Mr Biden is to visit the three sites where the 9/11 attacks unfolded: Ground Zero in Manhattan, the Pentagon, and the field in Pennsylvania where the third plane crash-landed. The latter is thought have been destined for the US Capitol but hijackers were thwarted by the plane’s passengers and crew. The president is also expected to reflect on the attacks in a White House video, to be released in the morning.

Mr Biden’s remarks in the lead up to the anniversary have attempted to draw a line under the attacks, as well as the policies that followed them, which he indicated were sometimes to the detriment of the United States.

In his statement about the end of the war in Afghanistan on 31 August, he said: “As we turn the page on the foreign policy that has guided our nation the last two decades, we’ve got to learn from our mistakes.”

He added: “The fundamental obligation of a President, in my opinion, is to defend and protect America – not against threats of 2001, but against the threats of 2021 and tomorrow.”

Mr Giuliani was hailed as “America’s mayor” for his handling of the terror attacks, which was widely praised. In recent years he has become a more divisive figure, given his involvement in the Trump Ukraine scandal and his pushing of conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election.