Photo: AP

We all know that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is a hard man to please. The guy has even denounced Beyoncé.

Today Giuliani passively expressed his displeasure for the field of Republican presidential candidates by announcing he’s voting for Trump, but not formally endorsing him. At least we know he likes voting.

In an interview with the New York Times on Thursday Giuliani said of Trump, “He’s my friend, and I think of the candidates, of the choices that I have, he’s the best choice for president. He’s a better choice than Cruz and a more realistic choice than Kasich.”

In a statement made on Thursday, Trump called Giuliani’s vote, “a great honor.”

Giuliani has previously referred to Trump as a “close personal friend.” And Giuliani told the Washington Post in February that he had been casually counseling Trump for about a month:

“We’ve been talking. Donald and me, Donald and a few other friends who know politics. He calls to check things out or I’ll call him to say, ‘Donald, you’re going too far’ or ‘What you said was great’ or maybe ‘Change it a bit.’ It’s nothing formal. It’s kind of a running conversation.”

Giuliani was critical of Trump in his interview with the Times on Thursday. He did not appreciate it, for instance, when Trump posted an unflattering picture of Ted Cruz’s wife, Heidi, on social media to score points with raging misogynist.

But Giuliani’s primary (and counterintuitive) reason for not endorsing Trump is that this will allow him to have more influence at the Republican National Convention, where he will be a delegate.

Navigating that thin line between Trump apologist and decent human being, Giuliani added that, “He’s a first-time candidate—you’re going to have some of these mistakes. The man I know is not the man you see on television. He’s a gentleman, he’s a good father.”

Giuliani also said that Trump is like Ronald Reagan, because, though he has agreed with them the majority of the time in the past, both have disappointed him.