City Councillor Doug Ford says he is his brother Rob's biggest critic, but he'd rather taxpayers' money was handled by the mayor at his worst, "than all of the councillors combined on their best night."
In an interview with AM640 radio host John Oakley on Thursday, Doug Ford explained why, when he was first asked about the video of his brother's profane rant at a fast-food restaurant, he was wrong to insist it must have been old footage.
"I truly believed that was an old video and I stated that," Ford said. "Obviously I was wrong."
Nevertheless, Ford said his brother “overall is doing fantastic,” and the incident represents nothing more than a minor slip-up.
“He’s focused. And he did have a minor setback, as they say. He fell off the wagon, but Rob’s resilient and he got back on and he’s a fighter,” Ford said in the radio interview.
"I would take Rob any day, watching the taxpayers’ money on his worst day, his worst night, than all of the councillors combined on their best night," Ford added.
In his own comments to reporters Wednesday, the mayor said his admitted drinking on Monday night was a "minor slip-up."
"We all experience these difficult bumps in life. I am telling Toronto residents that I'm still working hard every day to improve my health and my well-being," Ford said, insisting that "this is completely a private matter."
His comments came in the wake of headlines about a video posted on YouTube, in which he is heard ranting, in a speech laced with Jamaican profanities, about Police Chief Bill Blair.
In November, shortly after Ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine, "probably in one of my drunken stupors," he vowed to quit drinking.
As recently as last week, when asked about his visit to a downtown nightclub after photos made the rounds on social media, Ford snapped at a reporter that "I don't drink."
