At Trump rally, Rudy Giuliani quashes 'Lock her up!' anti-Clinton chant, yells 'Beat her! Beat her!'

Rudy Giuliani warms up crowd for Donald Trump in Akron — (Image credit: Angelo Merendino/Getty Images)

Rudy Giuliani, then New York City mayor, considered a run for a U.S. Senate seat in 2000 against Hillary Clinton. He did not run, and Clinton won a tough race against Rick Lazio. Now Giuliani is finally waging the New York–style "brutish bout under a white-hot spotlight" he'd envisioned 16 years ago, only this time on behalf of longtime friend and alter-ego Donald Trump, say Philip Rucker and Robert Costa at The Washington Post, and both Trump and Giuliani are "carrying personal grudges and considering no attack out of bounds."

Giuliani spoke at Trump's Republican National Convention, and he introduces Trump at private fundraisers and campaign rallies. Warming up for Trump at a rally in Akron, Ohio, on Monday, for example, Giuliani lashed out at Clinton for the situation in Libya and specifically the 2012 attack in Benghazi, accusing her of being "grossly negligent as secretary of state with the lives of our citizens." Rucker and Costa note what happened next:

As the crowd chanted, "Lock her up! Lock her up!," Giuliani waved his hands dismissively. "No," he shouted. "Beat her! Beat her! Beat her! Beat her! Beat her!" [The Washington Post]

Giuliani's supporters say that the former mayor and prosecutor is a big asset to Trump, especially as other big-name Republicans keep Trump at arm's length. One-time GOP New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, for example, calls Giuliani "a respected litigator and leader" who can persuade "uninformed or low-informed people on how to vote." When The Washington Post noted Giuliani's insinuations about Clinton's health, Paladino replied: "What's wrong with that? I think he's doing an excellent job in pointing out things about Hillary. How devious does a woman have to get?" You can read more on Giuliani's joyous grudge match against Clinton at The Washington Post.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.