Rudy Giuliani thought he had control of the room when he went to capture the scene at Donald Trump’s party by recording video — but things immediately went off the rails.
Fans ended up viewing a mug they never wanted to after viral clips of the former New York City mayor struggling with his phone caused quite the stir online. Many noticed he struggled for so long while the Mar-a-Lago celebration continued without him.
At 81, Giuliani looked determined to show viewers the scene but instead delivered a viral social media clip of himself struggling to flip the phone screen that was instantly framed as emblematic of his public decline.
In the roughly 30-second video, rapper Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” blares as guests dance in the background.
Giuliani begins by addressing viewers directly, saying, “What you’re seeing is me. What I’d like to do now is show you some of the very nice parts…” before trailing off mid-sentence. He then taps and swipes at his phone screen, unable to switch the camera to face the room.
The feed then locks him into an unflattering, purple-lit close-up.
Squinting behind rimless glasses, mouth slightly open, Giuliani appears to mouth, “I don’t know how…” as the phone shakes in his hand. Moments later, the view abruptly changes again, landing on a short tumbler filled with amber liquor and ice on a white tablecloth, suggesting the live attempt had gone off the rails.
The footage spread rapidly on X, where users wasted no time piling on.
One person wrote, “OMG!!! While Zohran Mamdani begins to run NYC, broke and disgraced Rudy Giuliani can’t even run his own iPhone. This is what rock bottom looks like.”
The only thing flipped faster than that camera is Rudy’s legacy. pic.twitter.com/d9HVeqgAqb
— Theophilus M (@theophilus367) January 1, 2026
Another mocked, “The only thing flipped faster than that camera is Rudy’s legacy.”
A third focused on the drink in frame, adding, “That is a STIFF drink. If I’m doing anything other than playing cards with my neighbors when I’m 81 or hanging out with my grandkids, then put a fork in me. ESPECIALLY if I’m trying to go live on ANY social media app. What a disgrace.”
Others were blunter.
“What an EFFING idiot,” one user wrote.
Another summed up the moment by saying, “Rudy’s tech skills are about as sharp as his legal advice — accidentally starring in his own horror show. From 9/11 hero to 2026 zero. Pathetic, but poetic.”
The ridicule comes at a moment when Giuliani’s legal and financial collapse is no longer abstract — it’s documented. The former lawyer has acknowledged making false and defamatory statements about Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, triggering a $148 million judgment that symbolized just how steep the consequences had become.
He remains suspended from practicing law in New York and is still facing the possibility of permanent disbarment tied to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Behind the scenes, Giuliani quietly moved to limit the damage.
According to ABC News, in January 2025, he reached a settlement agreeing to pay an undisclosed amount, clear up contempt issues, and stop defaming the women in exchange for having the judgment dropped. Court records filed the following month confirmed the dismissal, ending a high-stakes battle that once threatened his New York City apartment, luxury watches, and what remained of his public standing.
The timing only sharpened the contrast.
As Giuliani struggled through what appeared to be a live broadcast in Palm Beach, Zohran Mamdani was being sworn in as New York City’s new mayor, promising a “new era” and quoting rapper Jadakiss to say his administration would “be outside” and accessible to the public.
"And throughout it all, we will, in the words of Jason Terrance Phillips, better known as Jadakiss or J to the MUAH, be outside!"
— First and Pen (@firstandpen) January 1, 2026
At his inauguration speech, new NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani quoted Jadakiss and his entire government name. 😄😄✊🏾✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/8wXwOVi1qK
Despite the online ridicule, Giuliani appeared unfazed. Photos circulating from Mar-a-Lago show him smiling beside a younger woman, grinning from ear to ear, relaxed and unbothered.
Rudy Giuliani enjoying his time at Mar-a-Lago pic.twitter.com/dwjTXBKVID
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) January 3, 2026
Regardless of how silly he looked with his camera snafu, Giuliani’s New Year’s Eve Mar-a-Lago sighting is a snapshot of the political world we currently live in.
