An American mayor in London
Posted: Wednesday, September 19, 2007 2:15 PM by Mark Murray
From NBC's Andy Merten
After speaking with British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown today in London,
Giuliani met with reporters to discuss his first overseas fundraising trip, as well as his take on America’s relationship with the United Kingdom. Asked if overseas fundraising is important to his campaign, the former New York mayor chuckled, then went on to say, “Given the expense of American presidential elections, every fundraising opportunity is important; you’ve got to take advantage of it.”
Giuliani went on to explain that his trip also served another purpose: courting American voters currently living overseas, given the close nature of recent US presidential election results. “This is an audience we want to reach, both for the purpose of fundraising and then, one of these elections, you never know -- if it isn’t the absentee ballots of the out-of-town ballots, the Americans living overseas -- that’ll make the difference.”
The presidential hopeful was also questioned by the British press about the state of the relationship between the UK and Europe as a whole. “The United States and the United Kingdom are connected together by values, by common interests, by language, and they’re also held together by very closer personal relationships between our presidents and your prime ministers,” he answered, citing Tony Blair’s work with Presidents Bush and Clinton -- as well as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan’s joint fight against communism.
Giuliani went on to say that new Prime Minister Brown “made quite a hit” during his visit to the US, adding, “I hope it hasn’t hurt his popularity here in Great Britain, but it shouldn’t. Our relationship is much deeper than any occasional disagreements we have.”
