On Sept. 11, 2001, New York City was ready to move on from Rudy Giuliani.  After two full terms as mayor, mixed results of combating crime with policies of broken windows policing, and overall growing unpopularity with the former US Attorney, the people of New York City were ready to vote for the next mayor in their cities’ primaries scheduled that day.

But at 8:45 a.m., tragedy struck.

On that horrifying day that the nation would never forget, Giuliani emerged as a voice of hope in a time of darkness, as a bonafide leader in a time of disorder. Many even wanted him to remain in office for a third term, something that he legally couldn’t do.

For his actions during and after the events of Sept. 11, Giuliani was named Time Person of the Year, knighted by the Queen, and revered as “America’s mayor.”

“He showed the way out of our despair, and gave us the emotional armor to get up every day and get on with our lives,”  Jim Kelly, former managing editor of Time magazine, said. “He led by emotion, not just by words and actions.”

So how did this once almost universally loved figure fall so easily from grace?  A few business ventures, a failed presidential campaign, and an impeachment for a crime he may have contributed to later, Giuliani finds himself in a hotel room with Bulgarian film actress Maria Bakalova.

Posing as a 15 year-old girl for the movie “Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm”, Bakalova caught Giuliani in a compromising position just days before the 2020 election.  After conducting a fake interview with him in a New York City hotel room, Bakalova invited the former mayor to the bedroom for some drinks.  Bakalova proceeded to remove his microphone, and Giuliani was seen reaching into his trousers before being interrupted by actor Sacha Baron Cohen.

Giuliani later commented on Twitter that the event portrayed in the film was “a complete fabrication,” but it’s clear that this encounter decreased his reputability among the American people.

Two weeks later, on Nov. 7, a press conference was held by the Trump legal team at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping in far Northeast Philadelphia.  Sandwiched between an adult book store and a crematorium, Giuliani could be seen spouting nonsense about electoral fraud within the state, seemingly without concrete evidence of such mishandlings actually occurring, and promising to pursue legal actions within key battleground states.

But hey, at least the Trump legal team knows where to get actual concrete should they ever need it.

Following through with his promises, Giuliani stepped into the courtroom for the first time in nearly 30 years on Nov. 17 in hopes of overturning the results of the election.  Shaking off the rust, Giuliani forgot the name of opposing counsel, mistook who the presiding judge was, and continued to spread the baseless claims of the Democrats stealing the election. Unsurprisingly, his claims fell flat in the courtroom and the case was dismissed.

The next day, Giuliani held a press conference in Washington, DC, providing an update on the ongoing litigation concerning the 2020 election.  During the press conference, Giuliani, mirroring a ferocious goblin, started sweating what appeared to be hair dye down his face, seemingly melting away before the audience’s very eyes.

“This is real. This is not made up. I know crimes, I can smell ‘em,” Giuliani said while addressing the audience.  Sadly for him, it seems as though his crime-smelling days may be a thing of the past following his COVID-19 diagnosis.

While he stepped back to wipe his face, fellow Trump lawyer Sidney Powell claimed that she had found evidence of  “massive influence of communist money through Venezuela, Cuba and likely China in the interference with our elections here in the United States” without actually providing said evidence at the conference or in court.

Continuing with his fierce legal battle, Giuliani proceeded to present a series of  “extraordinary witnesses,” including Melissa Carrone, member of Dominion IT support at TCF Center in Michigan.

“Everything that happened at that TCF Center was fraud,” Carrone testified to the Michigan legislature.  She continued to testify that there were “zero” registered voters in the Wayne County poll book, and that 100,000 fraudulent votes had been cast.  Carrone followed by saying that “dead people voted and illegals voted.”

Extraordinary indeed.

In one of his latest harrahs in the courtroom, Giuliani can apparently be heard flatulating during a response to a Michigan state representative, not once, but twice.

As the US draws closer and closer to inauguration day, it seems as though Giuliani passing gas in court is much akin to the Trump administration: You pretend it didn’t happen, it’s unpleasant, and it’s gone before you know it. But you can never rule out a sudden second wave.

As for Giuliani, it’s clear that his involvement with the Trump administration has permanently stained his legacy as the once esteemed federal prosecutor and New York City mayor.  He may have been able to give hope to America following the attacks on 9/11, but his involvement with the Trump administration made America lose hope in him.