We Need Public Officials like Catsimatidis

Following a roller-coaster week on Wall Street brought on by the apprehension of the coronavirus, President Trump declared a national emergency and tweeted his support for a bipartisan aid package in Congress that will free up resources for Americans.

The President’s declaration and the activity in Washington came as ordinary Americans across the country felt adrift navigating school closures, quarantines, and interrupted routines; meanwhile, lawmakers and officials faced growing criticism for their response, with many feeling as if they’re not doing enough or have allowed partisanship to lead the response to the crisis.

Attorney to the President and former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, joined The Cats Roundtable to recap this week’s developments, and give his take on what’s being said versus what needs to be heard.

In times like these, Giuliani reflected, he believes Americans expect leaders to speak to them directly.

“You’ve got to communicate,” he explained to The Cats Roundtable. “When there’s some bad new fact, you should be the one to tell them.”

Giuliani knocked De Blasio for not alleviating anxieties, but instead seeming to encourage fear by making it seem “the world is coming to an end.”

He also hit back at criticisms of Trump’s response to the virus, saying the President and his team’s response “was perhaps the best ever,” and added that the idea any person could be responsible for a virus, let alone a president, was “ignorant.”

“How can you fault any president for a virus?” Giuliani asked.

Even with the aid-package in Congress set to be signed off by the President as soon as next week, Giuliani mourned the partisanship leveled at the White House, where winner-take-all politics has pushed away compromise, telling The Cats Roundtable he wish he would see as much unity “as we did on 9/11.”

Giuliani called for public officials to take a strong voice to keep people calm, adding that De Blasio didn’t have that “gift,” before imploring the host of The Cats Roundtable, John Catsimatidis, to run for mayor.

“You’ve got this facility for explaining things in good, direct language that people understand,” he said, reflecting that those qualities were lacking from De Blasio’s response.

“The more we remain calm, the less stress we impose on our fellow citizens, the better we’re going to get through this.”

On top of his work for the President, Giuliani hosts a podcast, “Common Sense,” where he tells The Cats Roundtable he has been laying out the evidence for the “crimes committed by the Biden family” and other Democrats in Ukraine.

“It’s like a novel,” he said.

He reflected that the American people will remain discontent with the results of the Ukraine “if people don’t get prosecuted,” adding “serious crimes” had been committed “at the highest level of government.”