For those who remember Rudy Giuliani best as the longtime Mayor of New York City, or the “World’s Mayor” following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, it can be hard to reconcile what he has become: a laughingstock, and regular punchline. The worst thing Giuliani probably ever did (apart from marrying his cousin) was join forces with his old pal Donald Trump while he was president, as it didn’t take long for Rudy to become wrapped up in the Trump administration’s many shenanigans—and to embrace the shady tactics he witnessed being employed by the likes of Vladimir Putin and other key Trump allies when it came to keeping the American public in the loop about the state of our country.
As Business Insider reports, in a new book by Marie Yovanovitch, Lessons From the Edge, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine writes that Rudy “completely absorbed the lesson of Russian disinformation” while he was working alongside Trump. Giuliani took these lessons into his dealings with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who both Rudy and Trump were hoping would agree to make it known that he was investigating possible corruption on the part of Joe Biden and his son Hunter. As Yovanovitch writes:
Giuliani saw Zelenskyy’s interest in meeting with Trump as an opportunity to move forward with his plan to portray Joe Biden as corrupt. If Ukraine’s president would announce that his government planned to investigate Biden, Trump and Giuliani could run with the narrative that Biden must be corrupt; why else would Ukraine be investigating?
What was becoming clearer too was that Giuliani was focused on the announcement of an investigation rather than an actual investigation.
Apparently, he had completely absorbed the lesson of Russian disinformation: the allegation can be just as damaging as the action, and it’s easier, quicker, and cheaper to deploy.
Yep, sounds about right.
Lessons From the Edge: A Memoir is available now.
(Via Business Insider)