Giuliani aired divorce dirty laundry in 2001 (controversial, Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, American)

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The World Today Archive - NY mayor airs dirty divorce laundry in public

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ELEANOR HALL: Before we leave you today, a very personal revelation from New York city's controversial mayor, Rudy Giuliani.

You may remember that Mayor Giuliani withdrew last year from the Senate contest with former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. That was also around the time he used a press conference to tell his wife that he was leaving her.

North American correspondent, Michael Carey reports.

MICHAEL CAREY: Even in New York, few politicians dig into a fight like Rudy Giuliani, the former anti-Mafia prosecutor, turned city mayor, who revels in a tough, take-no-prisoners style of administration. So why should his personal life be any different?

Last year, in tumultuous succession, Rudy, as he's universally known in Manhattan, announced he was being treated for prostate cancer, withdrawing from a Senate race against Hillary Clinton and splitting from his wife, Donna Hanover. But Ms Hanover, who learned about the divorce via the press conference, has been showing some fight of her own, seeking to get a court order barring Judith Nathan, the mayor's new companion, from access to the mayoral mansion.

So how do you win back public support if you're Rudy Giuliani? Well, try painting your wife as heartless and your new friend as an angel of mercy and letting it be known that the cancer treatment has left you impotent.

Andrew Kirtzman, a New York reporter is author of Rudy Giuliani, Emperor of New York.

ANDREW KIRTZMAN: Well, Rudy Giuliani, is the only man I can think of in American politics, who would leak the fact that he's impotent to the press. Apparently this was done as a measure by his public relations machine to garner sympathy in his divorce battle.

Giuliani currently lives at Gracie Mansion with his wife, Donna Hanover and with their two young children. It was a shock to both the public and to Donna Hanover, who apparently was not informed by the mayor. She learned from the press conference that he wanted a separation. And ever since that event, Giuliani has been disdained by a certain percentage of the population.

MICHAEL CAREY: Does that matter to him at this point though? He's undergoing treatment for cancer and he's forsaken a national political career at this stage.

ANDREW KIRTZMAN: He cares about his legacy and he cares about his future. Giuliani has been one of the most successful mayors in modern times, of New York city. And as well, Giuliani has apparently finished his treatment for prostate cancer. Apparently it's gone successfully. And he's now, he's a relatively young man. He's looking forward to his next act.

MICHAEL CAREY: Is this the first time that erectile dysfunction has been used as a political weapon?

ANDREW KIRTZMAN: [Laughs] It's not even a, it's a defensive weapon. [Laughs]

MICHAEL CAREY: [Laughs] Have we crossed something over the privacy threshold here? [Laughs].

ANDREW KIRTZMAN: [Laughs] You know, the mayor's an interesting person, once again. Giuliani only knows one speed and that is full throttle and when he decided that he needed to battle her for, I guess, for the sympathy of the public, there was one attempt to have a Gag Order by a Judge, and that fell apart. And as soon as it fell apart, he just barrelled away in the strident and in this case, even humiliating way, just to win. And Giuliani, as in every other battle he's ever waged, fights to kill.

ELEANOR HALL: Rudy Giuliani's biographer, Andrew Kirtzman. And even he sounds shocked.
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