VIDEO: Giuliani was in pain 'all night' after smack in SI ShopRite, 'As if a boulder hit me'

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Rudy Giuliani said Monday that he was in pain “all night” after he was smacked by a man who called him a “scumbag” at a Staten Island ShopRite on Sunday.

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In a Facebook appearance, the former mayor and Donald Trump lawyer said the worker was out of line and should be prosecuted over the smack.

“I’m a Christian and a Catholic, and I forgive. But I also believe in punishment as a deterrent,” Giuliani, 78, said.

Surveillance video captured the smack at the ShopRite on Veterans Road. Giuliani was at a campaign event for his son, GOP gubernatorial candidate Andrew Giuliani, when he was confronted by a man just before 3:30 p.m.

The man smacked Giuliani on the back and called him a “scumbag,” according to police and witnesses.

The suspect, 39-year-old Daniel Gill, was arrested and faces a misdemeanor assault charge, as well as charges of misdemeanor menacing and harassment. The assault charge was downgraded Monday from the initial charge of second-degree assault involving a person over age 65.

“I got hit on the back, as if a boulder hit me. It knocked me forward a step or two. It didn’t knock me down, but it hurt tremendously,” Giuliani said in the Facebook video. “I didn’t know what it was. I had no idea what it was.”

Giuliani, a Republican, said his attacker yelled “dirty curse words” at him and called him a “woman killer” in an apparent reference to the majority conservative Supreme Court decision last week striking down Roe v. Wade.

"I got hit on the back, as if a boulder hit me," Giuliani said Monday, a day after he was smacked at a Staten Island ShopRite
"I got hit on the back, as if a boulder hit me," Giuliani said Monday, a day after he was smacked at a Staten Island ShopRite. Photo credit Rudy Giuliani/Facebook

Gill’s lawyer, Susan Platis, told the Staten Island Advance that the incident amounted to a “tap,” not a slap.

“The video is clear. It was not a slap. It was just a tap on the back,” Platis said following Gill’s arraignment on Monday.

Some people on social media echoed that assessment, saying the blow to Giuliani didn’t appear to be severe. But Giuliani said he’s in a lot of pain.

“My shoulder hurts now. I’m going to go see a doctor later. It was painful all night. It was hard to sleep. It was a very, very heavy shot,” Giuliani said.

The ex-mayor said he’ll continue to campaign for his son ahead of the Republican primary on Tuesday.

“I don’t go out backdoors. I don’t sneak out. I will continue to campaign in public,” he said. “Very publicly. And don’t you dare come up and hit me, because if you do, there are prosecutors who will enforce the law.”

Featured Image Photo Credit: Rudy Giuliani/Facebook