Banned Again, Andrew Giuliani to Appear Remotely at Monday Debate

By Matis Glenn

NEW YORK — Republican gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Giuliani will have to attend Monday’s debate at Spectrum News NY1 remotely, as the news station requires all attendees to be vaccinated to enter the building.

It’s déjà vu for the former White House aide, who’s been campaigning on a platform that includes the lifting of COVID mandates and the rehiring of state and city workers who were fired due to vaccination noncompliance – with back pay. Last week, CBS2 barred him from attending the first gubernatorial debate held in their studios. His three opponents — Rep. Lee Zeldin, former Westchester County executive Rob Astorino and businessman Harry Wilson, all appeared in-person, while Giuliani participated remotely.

Giuliani held a press conference Sunday in front of the Spectrum News NY1 studios, flanked by two supporters: Guardian Angels founder and former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, and a woman who lost her job due to vaccination mandates. “The craziest part about this, is that if you go back and look at April 27th, I actually was allowed in the exact same studio .. sitting at arm’s length of [host] Pat Kiernan,” Giuliani said.  “Where’s the science on this? Are there inconsistencies from April 27 to today?”

Giuliani says he was also permitted to enter the Spectrum News studios in Albany on May 24.

“I proposed with my opponents and with Spectrum another place to do this, where all four of us can be there, that came to no avail,” he continued.

“Mr. Giuliani accepted the invitation to the debate knowing the rules and parameters, which include the need to be vaccinated in order to appear live,” a spokesperson for Spectrum told Hamodia. “He will be online, given the same visual space as others, and we are even sending a podium with our camera crew to ensure a similar look and feel for our viewers.”

When asked why Giuliani was allowed into their studios despite having not been vaccinated, the spokesperson said that it was a mistake and that they are carrying out an internal investigation. “In April, Mr. Giuliani disclosed that he was not vaccinated, and with that, he shouldn’t have been allowed to appear live in our studio,” he said.  “We are looking into the issue internally, but that was a mistake on our end. At this time, we require all live guests to be vaccinated at NY1.”

A Siena poll released this month shows Giuliani with both the highest favorability and unfavorability ratings of the four Republican candidates. An Emerson poll showed Giuliani in fourth place in primary polling, with Zeldin leading the field by a wide margin.