Trump is apparently getting increasingly annoyed with Giuliani's TV blitz


President Trump "is growing increasingly irritated with lawyer Rudy Giuliani's frequently off-message media blitz, in which he has muddied the waters on hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels and made claims that could complicate the president's standing in the special counsel's Russia probe," The Associated Press reports. Trump has begun telling confidantes that maybe Giuliani should "be benched" from TV, at least temporarily, AP reports, citing two people familiar with Trump's thinking.
Trump has specifically "expressed annoyance that Giuliani's theatrics have breathed new life into the Daniels story and extended its lifespan," AP says, and Politico adds that Trump's "frustration that Giuliani's media appearances are raising more questions than they are answering" was "capped by the admission Sunday that the president may have made similar payments to other women." Additionally, "Trump has grown agitated in recent days by cable news replays of Giuliani's Wednesday interview with Sean Hannity," AP reports. "Trump snapped at both men in recent days, chiding Hannity for using the word 'funneled,' which he believes had illegal connotations."
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that regarding Trump's views on Giuliani, "I didn't speak with him specifically about his feelings about it but certainly feels that he is an added member — added value, member to his outside special counsel." Right now, nobody in the West Wing is eager to step in with their serious concerns about Giuliani, Politico says, "but some aides said they expect the president to fire Giuliani if his behavior doesn't change."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That's a slip from grace for Giuliani, whose hiring Trump celebrated "last month by declaring that he had enlisted 'America's F---ing Mayor' as a legal attack dog with star power," AP says, citing one Trump confidante. "But many in the White House have begun evoking comparisons with Anthony Scaramucci — who, like Giuliani, was a hard-charging New Yorker with a knack for getting TV airtime." Scaramucci lasted 11 days.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play