Giuliani: I Didn't Want to Complicate Things Anymore

Cortney O'Brien | December 09, 2016 5:18 PM

As you've now heard, Rudy Giuliani will not be Donald Trump's secretary of state. The former mayor of New York City removed himself from the running back on November 29, but the report did not come out until Friday.

In an interview with Fox News' Neil Cavuto after the announcement, Giuliani said his desire to be in the cabinet was "great but not that great." He had always enjoyed helping the campaign from the outside.

"It gave me a certain degree of independence," he said.

The former mayor went on to say that after seeing so many good candidates for the role, he saw no reason to "complicate" matters anymore.

Giuliani made clear, however, that he is not a fan of one of those candidates. Mitt Romney, he said, went too far in his criticism of Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign.

"I thought Mitt went over the line in the things he said about Donald Trump," Giuliani said. "You can make friends and make up, but I would not see him as a candidate for the cabinet."

Although Giuliani will not be secretary of state, that does not mean he will never have a role in Trump's administration. The president-elect suggested as much in one particular part of his statement about Giuliani's withdrawal.

"Rudy Giuliani is an extraordinarily talented and patriotic American. I will always be appreciative of his 24/7 dedication to our campaign after I won the primaries and for his extremely wise counsel,” Trump said in a written statement. “He is and continues to be a close personal friend, and as appropriate, I will call upon him for advice and can see an important place for him in the administration at a later date.”