Giuliani touts Trump as true candidate of ‘hope’

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was considered a heavy favorite for president in the 2008 election cycle, over the weekend touted presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as a transformational candidate.

Giuliani argued on The Cats Roundtable, a radio show hosted by billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis, that Trump represents more of a hope for real change than Barack Obama did eight years ago when he was running for president.

{mosads}“I believe he’s the better hope for America,” Giuliani said of Trump, comparing him to Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, who are vying for the Democratic nomination.

Giuliani said the platform of hope and change Obama first ran on never quite panned out. He said the difference this time is that Trump is not a professional politician but instead a businessman who expanded his family’s name and fortune in the real estate business.

“We kind of got fooled last time. I think this time we have a man who’s going to be different, a different kind of president — not from the political background,” he said.

He compared Trump to billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg, who made his fortune in financial reporting and publishing before running to succeed Giuliani as mayor of New York.

“I think all the skills that you learn in business can easily be applied to government. Look at what Mike Bloomberg did as mayor of New York. He never ran for office, and I consider Mike to be one of the really great mayors,” he said.

Giuliani noted he was a lawyer and a prosecutor before running for mayor and said the responsibilities of his profession prepared him to govern effectively. 

“I think Donald has had a much more complete and varied career than either of his opponents, Bernie Sanders or Hillary, who have been lifetime politicians,” he said. “He’s a real hope for us that our politics can finally change.”

Giuliani also hailed Trump as a compromiser who is usually willing to give ground in business negotiations to make deals happen. He said politicians in Washington need to be flexible to accomplish some of their goals instead of standing on principle and achieving little, the political dynamic in the nation’s capital in recent years.

“You and I both know Donald really well, and we know he’s a dealmaker, and I know that somehow people think that’s compromising your principles. I think that means accomplishing your principles,” he said.