Not quite true. These old white males worry more about their “legacy” the older they get. Rudy is sincerely concerned because he knows his “legacy” is trashed by being in the company of Trump. It is good that Rudy sees what is coming and can suffer some in this life.
You could be on to something there. Rudy is a petty, vindictive jerk and it would not be beneath him to pull something like that. Either way he is going down as a class A asshole. He won’t save his legacy but he will help tarnish Trumps and that might be what he wants.