Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was smacked on the back while campaigning for his son.
The New York Times reported a grocery worker was arrested after the incident, citing police and Giuliani himself.
Giuliani explained he was walking through a ShopRite grocery store along with supporters when the worker smacked him on the back.
“The one thing he said that was political was ‘you’re going to kill women, you’re going to kill women,'” Giuliani said.
He understood the comment to be a reference to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, as the Times reported.
Police reported the man smacked Giuliani while saying, “What’s up, scumbag?”
A video of the incident was later posted to Twitter.
WATCH Former New York City Mayor @RudyGiuliani, now 78, claimed he was assaulted by a 39-year-old Staten Island supermarket employee who exchanged words with him. pic.twitter.com/jCC01RcG7Y
— BNN Newsroom (@BNNBreaking) June 26, 2022
The Times noted the man was taken into custody.
Additionally, police were still investigating and it was not clear if the man would face any charges.
The grocery store chain explained in a statement it knew of the incident and it had “zero tolerance for aggression toward anyone.”
Commenting on political violence, Giuliani said, “This has to stop. This is getting ridiculous.”
He added, “I’ve been in politics 50 years, I’ve never been attacked like this.”
According to the newspaper, Giuliani claimed he had red marks on his back but was not bleeding and stayed on his feet after being hit.
“My back hurts, but otherwise I’m able to walk and stuff like that,” Giuliani said.
He continued, “He almost knocked me down. Thank God for a 78-year-old, I am in pretty good shape.”
The former mayor’s son issued a statement responding to the incident.
Andrew Giuliani called it an “assault” and made it clear he and his father would “not be intimidated by left- wing attacks.”
He is seeking to become the Republican nominee for governor of New York.
