Though Gov. Bobby Jindal says Rudy Giuliani “should have chosen different phraseology” when he questioned President Barack Obama’s love of his country at a private dinner on Wednesday, Jindal says the gist of the former New York mayor’s comments is accurate.
“The gist of what Mayor Giuliani said — that the president has shown himself to be completely unable to speak the truth about the nature of the threats from these ISIS terrorists—is true,” Jindal says in a statement distributed to national news organizations. “If you are looking for someone to condemn the mayor, look elsewhere.”
Per Politico, which had a reporter attending the dinner, Giuliani said: “I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America. He doesn’t love you. And he doesn’t love me. He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up, and I was brought up through love of this country.”
USA Today, which is among those who received Jindal’s statement, reports the governor also says the issue isn’t Obama’s patriotism as much as his effectiveness.
“The level of the president’s love for our country is immaterial at this juncture,” Jindal says in the statement. “What President Obama has obviously demonstrated for everyone is that he is incapable of successfully executing his duties as our commander-in-chief.”
Giuliani’s comments—delivered at a dinner for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in New York — drew sharp criticism from Democrat leaders. The White House denounced Giuliani’s remarks as “horrible,” while Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz called on Republicans to say “enough.”
