Politics

Attack Dog? New Role For Giuliani May Have Trump Aides Cringing

REUTERS/Leah Millis

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani is allegedly open to changing his role in President Donald Trump’s world — but the change could make other Trump associates nervous.

With the end of the Mueller investigation, Giuliani is reportedly ready to shift gears. The former New York City mayor could be planning to reprise his role as a policy advisor and “campaign pugilist,” according to a Tuesday Politico report:

Giuliani is being cast as someone who can reprise the “jack-of-all-trades” role he played during the 2016 presidential campaign, helping senior aides brainstorm policy ideas and mark up speeches, introducing Trump at rallies and serving as the president’s private sounding board. It also means letting Giuliani be Giuliani during his media hits, drawing eye-rolling fact checks from reporters but giving the president a megaphone for whatever he wants to say, however politically incorrect it may be.

Giuliani has been a regular media presence in the weeks since Mueller’s investigation ended, defending the president and his policies and lashing out at his critics — and while the president appears to approve, there are reportedly some within the Trump administration who are wary of the unpredictable former presidential candidate:

The president and some of his top aides have occasionally cringed at the lawyer’s frequent off-script messaging and rambling TV appearances that can spark one or more unexpected news cycles. “Handling Rudy’s f**k-ups takes more than one man,” a White House staffer told POLITICO in January.

He has also been quite active on Twitter, defending the reputation of Attorney General William Barr.

Giuliani also attacked former FBI Director James Comey, a vocal Trump critic, for his early role in the investigation into the Trump campaign. (RELATED: Giuliani Calls Mueller Report ‘A Political Hit’)

He also fought back against House Democrats who claimed that the Trump administration’s push-back against continued investigations amounted to a constitutional crisis.

Giuliani took direct aim at current NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, who recently tossed his hat into the 2020 Democratic primary ring, blaming him for the deterioration of his city.

Giuliani is expected to meet with the president in the coming weeks to discuss his role going forward.

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