After former mayor Rudy Giuliani remarked on Good Morning America yesterday, "We had no domestic attacks under Bush. We’ve had one under Obama," newly anointed GMA host George Stephanopoulos was criticized for not calling him on it. Stephanopoulos later admitted, via a blog post, that he made a mistake.
Giuliani, who has been happy to question President Obama's toughness on terror, oddly made no mention of the September 11, 2001 attacks during the segment. Hours later, Stephanopoulos blogged about the caveats Giuliani's spokesman gave him:
Through his spokesman, Rudy Giuliani has clarified the remarks he made this morning on GMA regarding terrorist attacks on the United States under Presidents Bush and Obama.
The Mayor’s spokesman says that the remark “didn't come across as it was intended” and that Giuliani was “clearly talking post-9/11 with regards to Islamic terrorist attacks on our soil.”
Whatever the Mayor meant, it’s not what he said. All of you who have pointed out that I should have pressed him on that misstatement in the moment are right. My mistake, my responsibility.
However, the NY Times points out, "[Stephanopoulos] did not say whether he would address the misstatement in a future television program."
Stephanopoulos' ABC News' colleague Jake Tapper notes, "Some might argue, however, that even with this quite significant clarification, Giuliani is ignoring some other acts of terrorism" though Giuliani's spokesman later said that "he was referring to what are known islamic terrorist attacks."
As for GIuliani himself, he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer, "This is so silly. I did omit the words 'since Sept.11.' I apologize for that. I should have put it in. I do remember Sept. 11. In fact, Wolf, I remember it every single day."
