Trump advisors think Rudy Giuliani is 'counterproductive' -- but he's now in charge of his lingering campaign: NYT

Despite a lack of support among Trump aides, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is now in charge of the legal and communications strategy as his campaign goes on despite having lost the 2020 election to President-elect Joe Biden.

"President Trump has put his personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, in charge of his campaign lawsuits related to the outcome of the election, as well as all public communications related to them," The New York Timesreported Friday, citing "four people familiar with the move."

"Mr. Trump turned to Mr. Giuliani earlier on Friday in reaction to the latest setback he faced in court, this one relating to votes in Maricopa County, Ariz., the people said. The president’s advisers had warned him that they were likely to lose in that case, and he faces increasingly dim hopes of overturning the election results," reporter Maggie Haberman noted.

"But the involvement of Mr. Giuliani, who held a widely mocked news conference in front of a landscaping company in Philadelphia last weekend in which he claimed widespread fraud, has vexed people on the campaign and in the White House," the newspaper reported. "A half-dozen other Trump advisers have described Mr. Giuliani’s efforts as counterproductive and said that he was giving the president unwarranted optimism about what could happen. Those advisers have said that they are concerned Mr. Giuliani is damaging not only Mr. Trump’s remaining legal options, but his legacy and his future opportunities in politics as he considers another campaign in 2024."