Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani labeled Rev. Al Sharpton the “poster boy for hating the police” during his appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday.
When questioned by host Major Garrett about his previous suggestion that President Obama has contributed to an atmosphere of police hate in America — a statement that was deemed false by the Washington Post fact checker — Giuliani insisted on the validity of his claim.
Specifically, he cited Obama’s relationship with Al Sharpton as evidence of the way in which the president has encouraged negative sentiments toward police across the nation.
“[Obama] has had Al Sharpton to the White House 80, 85 times,” explained Giuliani. “Often when he’s talking about police issues, he has Al Sharpton sitting next to him. If you would like to have a poster boy for hating the police, it’s Al Sharpton. You make Al Sharpton a close adviser, you’re going to turn the police in America against you. You’re going to tell the police in America, ‘We don’t understand you.'”
“I saw this man help cause riots in New York,” the former NYC mayor continued. “I’ve heard his anti-police invective firsthand. To have a man who hasn’t paid $4 million in taxes, have a man who has spent his career helping to create riots, phony stories about police, to have that man sitting next to you speaks volumes.”
Giuliani emphasized the fact that Obama’s inclusion of Sharpton is showing America that he is “against the police.”
Moreover, Giuliani lamented the fact that Obama has not made “very strong comments” regarding the murder of NYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu at the hand of an individual retaliating against the death of Eric Garner.
The former New York City mayor also addressed the way in which the NYPD has pushed back against current Mayor Bill de Blasio for appearing to side with individuals protesting the Eric Garner grand jury decision.
Most recently, officers attending the funeral of Ramos reportedly turned their backs on a giant screen displaying de Blasio’s speech outside the church.
Though Giuliani said he does not support such back turning, he insisted that de Blasio “should apologize to the New York City Police Department.”
“He created an impression with police that he was on the side of the protesters,” explained Giuliani, adding that de Blasio — like Obama — would benefit from “los[ing] Al Sharpton.”
