Rudy Giuliani Calls de Blasio a 'Disgrace' After NYPD Attacked With Water: 'That Poor Police Officer, His Morale Has Been Destroyed'

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani has called the incumbent Bill de Blasio a "disgrace" over videos that surfaced on social media showing young men drenching police officers with water as they responded to an incident.

De Blasio is a liberal Democrat who has been mayor of New York City since 2014 and was re-elected for a second term beginning in 2018. He is currently running for his party's 2020 presidential nomination.

In the footage, buckets of water are hurled over two NYPD officers in Brooklyn as they walk away without taking any action. A bucket hits one officer in the head as he arrests a suspect over the bonnet of a vehicle. The officer is surrounded by young men.

"That would never happen in a million years while I was mayor of New York City," Giuliani, who was the city's Republican mayor from 1994 to 2001, told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on her show Monday night.

"Actually, it wouldn't happen if we didn't have a progressive, retrogressive, completely lazy mayor in New York City who is absolutely destroying the quality of life in this city. He's a disgrace, and actually, even Democrats don't support him and are embarrassed of him."

According to The New York Post, some officers are pinning the blame on de Blasio for his "hands-off approach to these guys," with one unnamed police source describing it as "total anarchy out there." The NYPD is looking into the videos, posted to Twitter and Instagram.

De Blasio has a difficult relationship with the NYPD over his liberal stances on issues such as policing of the African American community and civil rights. Some officers have at times turned their backs towards de Blasio in protest.

Giuliani, who is currently a lawyer for President Donald Trump, continued: "That poor police officer, his morale has been destroyed. And the way you reduce crime is to have police officers with high morale. That uniform should be respected.

"I lost almost 100 police officers in the line of duty. I lost a cousin and I have four uncles who were police officers and when I see that uniform disrespected, it just shouldn't happen in America. That's anti-American.

"You want to talk about anti-American? You are entitled to say that is anti-American when you attack the military uniform or the police uniform. Too many people have died, too many people have died protecting us wearing that uniform."

The New York City Mayor's Office did not respond immediately to Newsweek's request for comment.