Giuliani leaving ‘door open’ to White House run

** FILE ** Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)

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Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani told The Washington Times on Tuesday that he is keeping “the door open” to a 2012 presidential bid, saying he might jump into the race if he believes the other candidates are unelectable.

Mr. Giuliani is slated to speak next month in New Hampshire, where he finished fourth among 2008 Republican presidential candidates in the first-in-the-nation primaries.

“I’m going to go to New Hampshire to speak to a law enforcement group, so that’s really the main purpose of the speech, but I keep in contact with people in New Hampshire and try to figure out what kind of a chance I have,” Mr. Giuliani said in an interview. “At this point, I’m not actively considering it, but I have the door open.”

In New Hampshire, Mr. Giuliani will appear at a May 12 house party sponsored by the Granite Oath PAC of Ovide Lamontagne, whose failed 2010 U.S. Senate bid was supported by the tea party.

The Granite Oath PAC has held similar gatherings for two potential GOP presidential candidates, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, and is planning an event for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich later next month.

Mr. Giuliani said he was looking at other possible candidates as he weighs whether to mount a repeat bid.

“What will factor into my decision is what kind of chance the people that are running have to win and beat President Obama,” he said. “I think it’s vital we have a different president in 2013.”

Mr. Giuliani also offered kind words for fellow New Yorker Donald Trump, who is leading some recent polls.

“I think Donald Trump is the most exciting candidate in the race,” he said. “I know he says some things that are controversial, but I think he does it from the heart.

“I think he is doing as well as he’s doing because he’s saying things the American people need to hear — about leadership and about strength and about being proud of America and not apologizing for America. So I think he’s resonating.”

But Mr. Giuliani distanced himself from Mr. Trump’s suggestions that Mr. Obama was not born in the United States.

“I’m not one who wants to raise that question,” he said. “It’s been proven to my satisfaction that the president was born in the United States. The documented copy [of his birth certificate] is enough for me. I think the best reason that we should defeat President Barack Obama is because he’s not a very good president.”

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