Rudy Giuliani Tackles Global Security and Politics at Mississippi College

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani addresses Mississippi College's 2016 scholarship dinner. The event raised more than $362,400.

America’s military needs to be dramatically strengthened to crush terrorists around the globe, Rudy Giuliani said during his visit to Mississippi College.

“I want to see a big, big military,” the former New York City mayor said on the Clinton campus Tuesday. From building up the USA’s Navy in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to putting more American boots on the ground in dangerous countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, Giuliani said it’s critical to act now.

“The world is not made up of lawful democracies,” said the keynote speaker at Mississippi College’s annual scholarship dinner. “America has to assert itself.”

Known as America’s Mayor, Giuliani received worldwide acclaim as his city responded to the horrific September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Airliners crashed into NYC’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Washington and into rural Pennsylvania to kill nearly 3,000 people that tragic morning.

Following a recent wave of terrorist bombings in Paris, Brussels, the Middle East, California and other places, Giuliani said it’s no longer acceptable for the USA to be the least bit timid as Islamic terrorism kills thousands of people. “I believe America should be the policeman of the world.”

During his MC visit, the Republican leader also focused on the hotly contested 2016 race for the White House.

Giuliani says he’s voting for GOP front-runner Donald Trump, the fellow New Yorker he’s known the past 25 years.  He estimates he agrees with the billionaire on key issues 80 percent of the time.

“Economically, he (Trump) is perfect. He’s exactly what we need,” Giuliani said. “I think Trump would be aggressive on foreign policy,” he added. “I’m a hawk – a very strong believer.” In addition, he believes Trump is “certainly better” than likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

During his Mississippi College appearance, the Brooklyn-born son of Italian immigrants spoke to students at the Christian university and fielded questions from Jackson reporters.

The March 29 program raised $362,542 for student scholarships. Since MC’s signature program began in 2008, it’s generated more than $2.7 million.

Attracting prominent speakers like former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the programs helped 500 MC students receive an education the past eight years, President Lee Royce noted.

Guests at Anderson Hall dined on steak, salad and chocolate cheesecake and gave a standing ovation to the New York attorney. MC Law School professor Pat Bennett asked Giuliani questions from the audience.

Students praised the former NYC mayor. “I was impressed with his views on leadership,” said Lexey Monceaux, 19, of Clanton, Alabama. Giuliani came well-versed on economic issues, too, she added.

An elementary education major from Montgomery, Alabama, Emily Owen will vote in the presidential election for the first time in November. She was glad Giuliani discussed pressing issues on the minds of American voters. “He’s very well-informed on politics in general,” she said. “And he wants to help the economy. His perspective on Donald Trump, I never heard before.”

A former U.S. attorney during the Reagan administration, Giuliani spearheaded successful efforts against organized crime, and white-collar criminals. Following an introduction from Gov. Phil Bryant, he emphasized the USA needs to target terrorists like ISIS, slash federal spending, chop massive federal regulations, create jobs, improve healthcare and reform education.

During his remarks, the well-known Republican frequently hammered President Obama, a Democrat, and called Georgia’s Jimmy Carter a better commander-in-chief. “If we had kept our troops in Iraq, there never would have been an ISIS,” he said. “We need the military to keep us safe from all the killings going on.”

His message received a thumbs up from Mississippi College trustee Tony Huffman. “I’ve been a longtime admirer of Mayor Giuliani and supported his 2008 presidential campaign. I’m sorry he didn’t win eight years ago.”