An employee of a Staten Island grocery store was arrested on Sunday after hitting Rudolf Giuliani on the back while the former mayor campaigned on behalf of his son, a Republican candidate for governor, according to police, and Mr Giuliani.
In a brief interview, Mr Giuliani said he was walking around ShopRite’s grocery store in the Charleston neighborhood with supporters when an employee ignored him and punched him in the back, after which he apparently mentioned an abortion.
“The only thing he said was political was ‘you will kill women, you will kill women,'” said Mr Giuliani, who said he understood the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on Friday.
The original story, shared by police, did not mention abortion, but said an unnamed 39-year-old man punched Mr Giuliani in the middle of the back as he said, “What’s up, scumbag?”
The man has been detained. Police are still investigating and it is unclear what charges there may be against the man, if any.
Mr. Giuliani, a Republican who was recently Donald J.’s personal lawyer. Trump has a long and controversial connection to abortion rights – first he opposes them, then he supports them, then he turns again.
Earlier Sunday, he said on his radio program that he had gone through a “painful, intellectual, emotional and moral abortion situation” before finally concluding that he was against it.
Mr Giuliani is under intense scrutiny for his role in Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which ended in a deadly riot in the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. In an interview, he condemned political violence.
“It simply came to our notice then. It’s getting ridiculous, “he said.” I’ve been in politics for 50 years, I’ve never been attacked that way. “
Mr Giuliani said he had red spots on his back but was not bleeding and remained on his feet after the blow. He planned to hand out flyers to his son Andrew Giuliani ahead of Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial election. The younger Mr. Giuliani was not at hand.
“My back hurts, but otherwise I can walk things like that,” the former mayor said. “He almost knocked me down. Thank God for 78 years, I’m in pretty good shape. “
Azi Paybara and Dana Rubinstein contributed to the reports.
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