Rudy Giuliani reveals "dirty trick" he used to suppress Hispanic vote in NYC election

New York, New York - On a recent podcast interview, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani revealed the "dirty trick" he used to suppress the Latino vote and secure victory in his 1993 election.

Republican Rudy Giuliani has admitted to taking steps to suppress the Hispanic vote while running for mayor in 1993.
Republican Rudy Giuliani has admitted to taking steps to suppress the Hispanic vote while running for mayor in 1993.  © MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

On a Tuesday episode of his America’s Mayor Live podcast, Giuliani confessed to ex-White House strategist Steve Bannon and failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake that he resorted to some pretty shady tactics to influence the result of his 1993 mayoral election.

"I’ll tell you one little dirty trick," Giuliani said, to which Lake replied: "We need dirty tricks!"

"A dirty trick in New York City? I’m so shocked," Bannon quipped.

Harris backed by Liz Cheney at Wisconsin rally as Trump lies about Hurricane Helene response
Kamala Harris Harris backed by Liz Cheney at Wisconsin rally as Trump lies about Hurricane Helene response

"No, played by Republicans!" Giuliani says.

"Republicans don’t do dirty tricks," Bannon claimed before Giuliani responded. "How about this one?"

The former personal attorney to Donald Trump then went on to explain how his mayoral campaign's "Voter Integrity Committee" weaponized fear of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to suppress the Latino vote.

"So they went through East Harlem, which is all Hispanic, and they gave out little cards, and the card said: 'If you come to vote, make sure you have your green card because INS are picking up illegals.' So they spread it all over the Hispanic …" said Giuliani, trailing off.

Rudy Giuliani faces Justice Department probe

Rudy Giuliani won the 1993 New York City mayoral election by around 53,000 votes.
Rudy Giuliani won the 1993 New York City mayoral election by around 53,000 votes.  © SPENCER PLATT / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Soon after the election, the US Department of Justice under then President Bill Clinton launched a civil rights investigation, but Giuliani said he wasn't worried.

"What civil rights did we violate? They don’t have civil rights! All we did was prevent people who can’t vote from voting. Maybe we tricked them, but tricking is not a crime," he told his lawyer at the time.

"In those days, we didn’t have crazy prosecutors. Nowadays, they’ll probably prosecute you for it … and that’s the way we kept down the Hispanic vote," Giuliani said on the podcast.

Could Trump's demonization of early voting sabotage his re-election efforts?
Donald Trump Could Trump's demonization of early voting sabotage his re-election efforts?

Giuliani ended up winning the 1993 election by around 53,000 votes.

In New York City, a bill to grant voting rights in municipal elections to non-citizens passed in the City Council in December 2021 and became law in January 2022. The measure was set to take effect at the start of 2023 but was blocked by a state Supreme Court justice last June.

Also in June, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act into law to extend protections against voter suppression for racial minorities.

Cover photo: MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

More on US politics: