9/11 and the Rise of the NYPD | PART FIVE: The Mayor
WNYC News | Sep 8, 2021
On September 11, 2001, Rudy Guiliani was transformed from lame-duck mayor to something almost larger than life.
By the time he appeared at the 9/11 prayer service at Yankee Stadium on September 23rd, Guiliani had become a national name. Oprah Winfrey, the master of ceremonies at a somber yet patriotic event, with flags waving and the crowd cheering, introduced him as “America’s mayor” as he stepped forward to address a terrorized city and a terrified country.
What happened before 9/11, however, helps to explain the current depth, breadth and power of the police force that Guiliani helped build and the ways in which the September 11 attacks have factored into its evolution ever since.
