While Rudy Giuliani would go on to play a more disastrous role in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency, the former New York City mayor and once-respected attorney reportedly had his eyes on a more prestigious title: Secretary of State. According to writer Andrew Kirtzman’s new book, Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America’s Mayor, Trump passed on giving Giuilani the coveted cabinet position because of the attorney’s drinking problem.
Thanks to letting Giuliani roam the secret tunnels beneath Mar-a-Lago after his failed presidential run in 2008, Trump was well aware of Rudy’s drinking. While the two had a friendly relationship where they reportedly fought for one and other’s respect, Giuliani made an ill-advised move by going to the press to convince Trump to make him Secretary of State, which he felt he deserved. Instead, the campaign ended up angering Trump. Via The Daily Beast:
“He started just hearing all of these negative stories about him, about his drinking; Giuliani waged this campaign in the press to get the job which turned Trump off. They launched an investigation internally in the campaign into Giuliani’s clients, and he had so many clients with potential conflicts that had filled a report, dozens of pages, and eventually, Trump moved on,” says Kirtzman, who shares a lot of other Giuliani anecdotes on this episode, including his ex-wife’s speculation that he had a drinking problem.
Before anyone gives Trump too much credit, Kirtzman said that the former president offered Giuliani a chance to be Attorney General or head of Homeland Security, which are both frightening prospects. Fortunately, Giuliani’s ego led him to turn down those offers in pursuit of being Secretary of State even though he had practically zero foreign policy experience. Later, he’d take over Trump’s legal battle to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which so far, has resulted in multi-billion dollar lawsuits and an ongoing investigation in Georgia that’s not looking great for Trump and Rudy.
(Via The Daily Beast)