#Trump says NYC needs ‘another Rudy’ to run for mayor next year

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President Trump speaks during his interview with The Post in the Oval Office yesterday.
David Butow

President Trump told The Post during an Oval Office interview on Thursday that New York City needs “another Rudy” to enter the mayor’s race next year as violent crime soars.

“You need another Rudy [Giuliani] to go in there and clean it up. That’s what you need. Rudy was a great mayor,” Trump said.

“He did stop and frisk and he was proud of it. He wasn’t somebody that apologized at all. He did his job,” Trump said. “It was bad when he was there. I think it is maybe at that same level if not worse. It can be saved but they’ve got to work fast.”

Giuliani, a Republican and one of the president’s attorneys, is credited with cleaning up New York during his 1994-2001 reign as mayor.

Shootings and murders are up significantly this year in the city. The number of murders last month was up 58 percent over the same period last year, according to NYPD data. The year-to-date jump in killings is 29 percent.

Trump blamed outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat who cannot run again due to term limits, for the surge in violence.

“You need a man just like Rudy Giuliani that has a lot of energy and a lot of smarts, a lot of street smarts. I mean, the truth is now people realize what a good mayor he was, what a great mayor he was,” Trump said.

Trump called New York “a cherished diamond” that had “gone to hell.” He in part blamed the recent city budget cutting $1 billion from the NYPD’s $6 billion in annual operating expenses and about $537 million in planned capital spending.

“It’s a showplace for this country. It’s one of the diamonds of this country and they’ve let it go to hell out of pure stupidity and not understanding anything about what they should be doing. It’s a very sad thing for me to watch,” Trump said.

Trump, who talked up his own chances of carrying New York state in November, said he was unfamiliar with current candidates in the mayor’s race. Giuliani did not immediately respond to a text message from The Post.

Declared candidates in the mayoral race include former Obama White House budget director Shaun Donovan and retired US Army brigadier general Loree Sutton. Many city officials are possible contenders.