Rudy Giuliani: 'Compared to Biden and Pelosi, I'm a phenom'

Rudy Giuliani.
(Image credit: Andrew Harnik/AP)

Here's a statement you don't hear from a close associate of the president of the United States every day.

"I am a high functioning human being able to outwork people half my age," Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's personal attorney, told New York Magazine in a piece published Monday. "Compared to Biden and Pelosi, I'm a phenom."

This statement came in response to a story focusing on how Giuliani's phone usage continues to baffle reporters, who question not only his frequent accidental calls, but also his tendency to send messages apparently meant for someone else or like his own texts, including ones sent a full day prior; in one case, he even disliked one of his own messages.

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"He once liked a question I sent him about him being accused of illegal lobbying, and then he didn't respond to the question about lobbying," a confused reporter recounted. Another reporter recalled, "I remember one time he gave his own text a thumbs-down but then promptly switched it to a thumbs-up."

The piece also addresses questions over whether there has been "some kind of decline" on Giuliani's part, prompting this "high functioning human being" response from him, as well as denials from Giuliani associates. "I have to tell you, in sitting with him and going through these details, names, times, places, all the stuff that he has collected since last year, I can tell you he doesn't miss a beat," former NYPD commissioner Bernard Kerik said. "There is no decline."

With one a self-declared "very stable genius" and another a self-declared "high functioning human being," Trump and Giuliani may be a match made in heaven.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.