Giuliani: ‘I endorse Trump’ but not part of campaign
Rudy Giuliani: "I endorse Donald Trump but I'm not part of the campaign" https://t.co/6OZtrfIwim https://t.co/LQZy1K3rvW
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 19, 2016
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday explained his less-than-full-throated support of Republican Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Giuliani announced earlier this month that he supported Trump and would vote for him in the New York primary but stopped short of endorsing the real estate mogul.
{mosads}”It doesn’t make sense to me that you are going to vote for Trump but you won’t endorse him,” CNN’s host Chris Cuomo told Giuliani on Tuesday morning.
“OK, so I’ll endorse him,” Giuliani responded. “But I’m not part of the campaign.”
Pressed again to leave no doubt about his support, the former mayor responded, “I’m Rudy Giuliani. I mean a lot in New York politics. I endorse Donald Trump — but I’m not part of the campaign.”
The line of questioning came a day after Giuliani was pressed by Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly on why he was not endorsing Monday night.
“Only because I’m not part of the campaign,” Giuliani told Fox News. “I don’t want anybody to think I am an official in the campaign, I’m part of the campaign, I take orders from the campaign.”
The former mayor said there were some things he wanted to see change within the Trump campaign before he would fully endorse and noted he did not want to be on the campaign trail.
Giuliani has argued that Trump represents the GOP’s best change at defeating Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in the general election, saying he would support whichever Republican can win.
“If I thought [Texas Sen. Ted] Cruz had a better chance at beating Hillary Clinton, I’d support Cruz,” he said.
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