Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and current sideman to Donald Trump, denied having a drinking problem in a new interview with NBC New York.
“I’m not an alcoholic. I’m a functioning ... ” Giuliani told the station, before changing direction midsentence and going with, “I probably function more effectively than 90% of the population.”
He also denied allegations that some of his wilder TV moments were related to booze.
“I don’t think I’ve ever done an interview drunk,” he said. “I have ... sometimes ... I mean, I drink normally. I like Scotch, I drink Scotch.”
The former mayor has been dogged by reports that alcohol has fueled his erratic behavior in recent years.
Three Republicans said in 2019 that Trump allies wanted Giuliani to end his media interviews defending the then-president due to concerns he was drinking before going on TV.
In the book “I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year,” published earlier this year, Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker wrote that “some people thought Giuliani may have been drinking too much” at a White House event on election night in 2020 when he urged Trump to “just say we won.”
Trump did not win.
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said in 2018 that Trump passed on Giuliani for a Cabinet post because he was “drinking too much,” among other reasons.
“I’m insulted,” Giuliani told Politico at the time. “It’s extremely insulting. There’s no proof of any kind that I take too much alcohol. That’s ridiculous.”
Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.