Rudy Giuliani said 9/11 was the 'worst' but also in some ways the 'greatest' day of his life

• Rudy Giuliani discussed his memories of 9/11 ahead of its 21st anniversary.
• Giuliani, NYC mayor during the attack, said in some ways it was the "greatest" day of his life.

Rudy Giuliani, who served as Mayor of New York City during 9/11, said it was in some ways the "greatest" day of his life, as he reflected on his "complex feelings" ahead of its 21st anniversary.

"I guess the best way to describe it is it was the worst day of my life and in some ways, you know, the greatest day of my life, in terms of my city, my country, my family," he told Newsmax on Friday.

"It was the worst foreign attack on this country since the war of 1812. It was a complete surprise. It was an attack on completely innocent people and I watched it first hand," he said.

Giuliani was dubbed "America's mayor" after his leadership following the terrorist attacks on World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

After the attacks, which led to the deaths of nearly 3,000 people, Giuliani was highly visible in coordinating the responses of various city departments and encouraging calm among the population.

Although he was widely lauded by the public and the relatives of 9/11 victims, some former firefighters and families have since voiced some criticisms of him.

Giuliani's career since 9/11 took him far from his former role as a unifying figure, particularly in the form of his support for President Donald Trump.

Giuliani led efforts to overturn the 2020 election to keep Trump in power, and has repeatedly pushed conspiracy theories claiming the election was stolen by fraud.

He faces multiple legal pressures including a federal criminal investigation into whether he broke foreign lobbying laws while trying to seek damaging information on the Biden family in Ukraine. He is a target in a criminal probe in Fulton County, Georgia regarding the 2020 presidential election.

He is also facing a defamation lawsuit from the election-tech company Dominion Voting Systems which accuses him of carrying out a "viral disinformation campaign" by baselessly claiming its machines were used to steal the presidency from Trump.