The 107th and 110th mayors of New York City have some feelings about each other, and they're not mincing words about it either.
Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday suggested Rudy Giuliani may have falsely reported a crime over his alleged assault at a grocery store last weekend, and Giuliani in turn blasted the mayor as an "idiot" who didn't know what he was talking about.
The incident in question happened Sunday at a ShopRite on Staten Island, where the controversial former mayor and Trump attorney was campaigning for his gubernatorial candidate son.
Video shows a store employee place his hand on Giuliani's back and say something to him. The former mayor later said he endured a poor and pained night of sleep after he was knocked forward "as if a boulder hit me."
The 39-year-old ShopRite employee, Daniel Gill, was taken into custody at the scene Sunday afternoon and arraigned Monday on charges of assault, menacing and harassment, all of which were downgraded to misdemeanors on Monday. He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court in mid-August.
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Some, even in the most conservative corners of the media, have questioned how hard the suspect actually struck Giuliani, and Adams raised the same questions Tuesday.
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"When you look at the video … the guy walked by and patted him on the back. I don’t know if he said congratulations … I don’t know what he said to him. It was clear that he was not punched in the head. It was clear that it didn’t feel like a bullet. It was clear that he wasn’t about to fall to the ground. And so it was clear … that he had a lot of creativity and sensationalism that caused this person to be arrested," the mayor said during remarks at an unrelated event.
"I’m having a conversation with the police commissioner about … do we feel that was a falsely reported crime," Adams said, adding "He’s a former mayor.. I think it’s irresponsible for a former mayor."
Giuliani held a news conference Tuesday afternoon and fired back at Mayor Adams.
"Mayor Adams is an idiot. 'Cause I didn’t file a report. Imagine that. He wants to prosecute me for filing a false report that I didn’t file. His police department filed the report. They did the investigation. They looked at the tape. He’s doesn’t really give a damn about victims," Giuliani said, later calling him an "idiot" a second time and also a "phony."