RUDY GIULIANI/TRUMP PEOPLE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “As President Donald Trump and White House aides expressed their discomfort over Rudy Giuliani’s free-wheeling interviews, those who know the former mayor from his native New York City and who’ve seen him at recent events suggest it’s just Rudy being Rudy. They described a man whose once-powerful legal career long ago morphed into a role of attracting clients for law firms and using his contacts to help emerging businesses. Much of that work was conducted in loose social settings, with Giuliani drawing attention for his outrageous statements — frequently directed at his favorite target, Hillary Clinton — while delighting some listeners and offending others. On Tuesday, however, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough went so far as to state on live television that Trump didn’t initially hire Giuliani for a Cabinet post because he was “losing it,” “falling asleep five minutes into meetings” and “drinking too much” — charges that Giuliani himself rejected in his own combative style in an interview with POLITICO. Giuliani’s conduct since joining the Trump legal team has been the subject of several private conversations in recent weeks among current and former Trump advisers and attorneys involved in the Russia investigation who have been asking one another about the lawyer’s drinking and other erratic behavior. The concern: whether it’s causing more problems for a president who already had a pile of legal and political problems.”
-Darren Samuelsohn and Ben Schreckinger, “‘It’s extremely insulting’: Giuliani fires back at allegations of erratic behavior,” Politico, May 8, 2018 9:08 pm