Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani found himself up against a heckler in his hometown during a parade on Sunday. With his record as mayor under attack from a bystander, Giuliani did not let their criticism slide easily in a viral video of the incident.

Giuliani was taking part in the Jewish Community Relations Council’s Celebrate Israel Parade that was marching up Fifth Avenue along the route leading to Israel’s consulate in the city. The parade drew a number of New York’s political leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and current Mayor Eric Adams, who marched ahead of Giuliani at the event.

With the exception of pro-Palestinian protestors jeering at the marchers, the event proceeded smoothly along its route until a heckler shouted something that caught Giuliani’s attention. It was unclear what the bystander said, but it was enough to prompt Giuliani to launch a colorful counter attack.

[Warning: Video is NSFW]

"You are a jack---," Giuliani shouted at the heckler while walking along the metal barricades on the side of the street. "You are a brainwashed a--hole!"

At one point in the exchange, Giuliani aggressively asserted that during his administration from 1992 to 2000, crime was reduced in New York City. As fellow marches ushered the former mayor forward, Giuliani looked back and shouted that the heckler was “as demented as Joe Biden!” to cheers from a small group of supporters.

To be certain, crime did decrease during Giuliani’s tenure at Gracie Mansion. Between 1994 and 2001, New York City saw a dramatic drop in crime, a period that coincided with Giuliani's advocacy of a "broken windows" style of policing.

Arrests jumped sharply as police cracked down on lower-level crimes and misdemeanors. However, experts then and now have remained in disagreement on what exactly brought crime down in New York during that period.

Giuliani has remained popular in some corners of the city that he once led through the horrors of 9/11, earning the moniker "America's Mayor." His family’s brand remains somewhat intact through the ongoing gubernatorial bid by his son Andrew.

But Giuliani’s work for former President Donald Trump, most notably his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election that cost him his law license, has soured his image in the eyes of many New Yorkers.

At the same time, Giuliani’s broken windows style of policing has been viewed as a contributing factor in deteriorating relations between police officers and communities of color across the Big Apple.

RELATED STORIES
New York New york city