Call it endorsement remorse.
Rudy Giuliani said such nice things about John Catsimatidis at the Federal Homeland Security Enforcement Foundation’s gala , it sounded like he wished he had endorsed Catsimatidis for mayor instead of Joe Lhota.
The former mayor told the patriotic crowd — who raised big bucks at the Grand Hyatt for the families of fallen FBI, Secret Service, ICE and Border Patrol agents — that Catsimatidis was a worthy candidate who ran “an honorable race” in the Republican primary.
“But Joe Lhota worked for me as my deputy mayor and he is my friend, and I had to be loyal to him,” Giuliani told the crowd, which included Willie Geist of the “Today” show, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, actors Armand Assante and Stephen Baldwin and broadcasters Rita Cosby and Bill McCuddy, who wielded the auctioneer’s gavel.
Giuliani quoted Ed Koch, who told voters after losing to David Dinkins, “You get what you deserve.”
“Maybe a few months from now, you’ll say the same thing,” Giuliani told Catsimatidis.
Said the billionaire Gristides owner: “I wish he’d said that before the primary.”