Rudy Giuliani’s $911 Autographed 9/11 T-Shirts

On January 25 2022, a screenshot of the following tweet went around Imgur, containing the assertion that former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was selling autographed 9/11 t-shirts for $911:

That January 24 2022 tweet by former United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan included a link to a HillReporter.com item from the same date, titled “Rudy Giuliani is Selling Autographed 9/11 Shirts for $911.00.” It began with information about the retailer of the t-shirts (WABC Radio), and that a “portion” of proceeds would go to a charity:

Rudy Giuliani has faced an incredible fall from grace since 2001. Back then, he was America’s Mayor, presiding over New York City following the September 11th attacks. And for the people who still see Giuliani positively, it is probably because of 9/11. And he is now trying to use some of those good feelings to raise money.

WABC Radio, where Giuliani has a regular show, is selling signed 9/11 shirts for $911.00. Customers can choose from 1 of 3 colors to be signed by the former Mayor.

The fine print below notes that a “portion of proceeds go to the WABC Radio Foundation, a 501c3 charity. How much that portion is, wasn’t revealed.

HillReporter.com didn’t seem to link directly to the shirts , but the site embedded a very popular January 23 2022 tweet about them:

On January 25 2022, UK outlet The Independent published “Outrage over signed Rudy Giuliani 9/11 shirts selling for $911,” reporting:

Rudy Giuliani has come under fire for selling signed 9/11 T-shirts for $911 (£677).

CNN anchor Jon Avlon, who used to work for the former New York mayor, blasted Mr Giuliani for using the terrorist attack to sell merchandise.

“It is loathsome. It’s a total disrespect for the dead. It has not been going on for a while,” Mr Avlon said. “It is a departure and a further descent for Rudy from principles he once would have held.”

That site didn’t include a link to the shirts either, which we were finally able to locate on WABCRadioStore.com. A listing labeled “Collectible Autographed By Rudy Giuliani 9/11 20th Anniversary T-Shirt Limited Quantity – Blue” included a product description and price ($911):

$911.00

Rudy Giuliani will personally autograph the 9/11 t-shirt. All proceeds go The Tunnel to Towers Foundation established to remember the sacrifice of firefighter Stephen Siller who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2001.

We archived the page through one site, but noticed that the Wayback Machine had a copy of the page first archived on November 2 2021. It wasn’t clear when WABC Radio first published the listing, but it seemed to attract little attention until late January 2022.

HillReporter.com reported that “fine print below [the listing] notes that a ‘portion of proceeds go to the WABC Radio Foundation,” but that how “much that portion is, wasn’t revealed.” That claim was accurate based on archived versions; a version archived on January 22 2022 read:

Rudy Giuliani will personally autograph the 9/11 t-shirt. Portion of proceeds go to the WABC Radio Foundation, a 501c3 charity.

A version of the page live on January 25 2022 had been altered to include “all proceeds” and a real 9/11 organization:

Rudy Giuliani will personally autograph the 9/11 t-shirt. All proceeds go The Tunnel to Towers Foundation established to remember the sacrifice of firefighter Stephen Siller who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2001.

Claims that Rudy Giuliani was “selling autographed 9/11 shirts for $911” were largely accurate, with a few details missing from some iterations. The listing was published no later than November 2 2021, a few months prior to when they became the subject of viral notice in late January 2022. Giuliani wasn’t selling the shirts directly, but through a partnership with WABC Radio. A product description in January 2022 claimed a “portion of proceeds” would go to the WABC Radio Foundation, verbiage that was later changed to “all proceeds” and to the “Tunnel to Towers Foundation.”