NEW YORK — Republican gubernatorial candidate Andrew Giuliani claims he’s being picked on by New York’s local news station NY1, which barred him from its studios for the next candidates’ debate because he is unvaccinated.
The son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says that he should be allowed to debate his political rivals, Lee Zeldin, Harry Wilson and Rob Astorino, at either a neutral location or in the Chelsea studio of the cable news channel.
“NY1 Spectrum News has imposed a COVID mandate, saying that I can actually not come in the building again,” he said during a Sunday news conference.
“Your position is a blatant act of discrimination against and selective treatment of the leading candidate in the Republican primary,” he wrote to the station’s political director, Robert Hardt. “Your decision to banish me to a remote location interferes with the Republican voters’ ability to make an informed decision on June 28th.”
Andrew Giuliani claimed that he had been in the NY1 studio on April 27.
NY1 said that he should not have been allowed in the studio in April. Spokeswoman Maureen Huff said that all guests must be vaccinated, a fact that he was aware of when he accepted the invitation to debate.
“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. 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,” Huff said.
Giuliani said that he had also been inside the news outlet’s Albany studio in May.
He claims that he’s being discriminated against for his “health choice.”
“This cannot be something that is mandated on high from the governor or from a company,” he said.
He vowed to end all vaccine mandates if elected and rehire all government employees who had been fired for not getting vaccinated, though he would not have that authority.
Failed Republican mayoral candidate and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa stood with Giuliani for the news conference, claiming the news channel was discriminating against Giuliani because of his father.
“Because your name is Giuliani, you are on the outside,” Sliwa said. “You might as well be in the outhouse because that’s essentially what they’re saying about your candidacy.”
Last week CBS barred Andrew Giuliani from the studio for their Republican primary debate because of his vaccination status.
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