'You sound completely barking mad': Piers Morgan, Giuliani trade insults over Trump's George Floyd tweet

British TV news host Piers Morgan and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani engaged in a bitter shouting match Thursday over a controversial tweet from President Donald Trump. 

The blow up began after Morgan's "Good Morning Britain" co-host Susanna Reid asked Giuliani about Trump's controversial May 29 tweet that used the phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

The phrase is associated with a former Miami sheriff who brutally cracked down on anti-segregation protesters in the 1960s. Trump was condemned for using it about the violence that broke out at protests following the death of George Floyd – a black man who suffocated when a Minneapolis police officer pinned him down with a knee to his neck. 

"Many people think that was a totally inappropriate way to calm down protest," Reid said, calling it "almost a threat of violence" and pointing out that Twitter flagged for violating its rules against glorifying violence. 

"You deliberately misinterpret President Trump because the left-wing media has some kind of a hatred of him that's actually pathological," Giuliani said. 

That response prompted Morgan to enter the fray. 

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Morgan repeatedly attempted to ask Giuliani a question as the president's personal attorney continued to defend him. He said Trump did not know the origin of the phrase and said the blame for the riots that took place in Minneapolis lies with the city's Democratic mayor. He also said the phrase was an "accurate statement" because police officers had been shot during the unrest. 

Trump has similarly defended his use of the expression on Twitter saying it was "spoken as a fact, not a statement."

"I'm up here at one o'clock in the morning to answer your questions, so I would think you'd give me the courtesy of answering," Giuliani said as Morgan tried to interject. He continued to denounce the news media and defend Trump, who he said had handled the events "really superbly." 

"Can you hear me, Rudy? It's Piers Morgan," he said. 

"I can. I can hear you interrupting me, sure," Giuliani replied. 

Morgan told Giuliani he was "talking complete claptrap." 

"The president of the United States' job, when this kind of thing happens, is to keep temperatures down, not to put fuel on the fire," Morgan said. 

Morgan rejected Giuliani's contention the controversy was manufactured and that " you people have become political propagandists rather than journalists." 

"Who are 'you people'?" demanded Morgan, who was a contestant on Trump's show "Celebrity Apprentice" and has often defended the president. "I've known Donald Trump 13 years. I've been very fair-minded about him, as I'm sure you're aware." 

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The two men continued to talk over each other for several minutes. 

"What a bunch of garbage you're spewing," Giuliani said in a raised voice. "It happens to be factually correct, no matter who it came from. If you start looting, people are going to start shooting. You're going to kill people, and they have killed people and you don't cover it because you're a bunch of phonies!" 

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"Rudy, what happened to you?" Morgan asked. "You used to be one of the most revered people in America." 

"You can say anything you want because I have no respect for you," Giuliani said. He continued to shout over Morgan, contending that Trump's tweet was not "inflammatory" but "accurate," before declaring, "This interview is over, as far as I'm concerned." 

"You know what, Rudy? I'm sorry, but you sound completely barking mad. Do you know that?" Morgan said. 

"No I don't!" Giuliani replied.

"You're the one who got thrown off of television here," Giuliani said, referring to Morgan's CNN, which was canceled in 2014. "I know what happened to your show, Pierce. And I remember the mistakes you made. And I remember how you ----- up."

It was unclear whether Giuliani said "sucked" or used an expletive at that point, but Morgan assumed the latter and apologized to his viewers. 

"When I used to interview you, you were an intelligent, reasonable man. And you've gone completely mad," Morgan said. "And you sound deranged. You're abusive. And it's really sad to see what's happened to you." 

Giuliani continued to insult Morgan for how his "career imploded in the United States" before the host called him "unhinged" and accused him of using profanity, which Giuliani vehemently denied as the interview drew to a close. 

The contentious exchange quickly drew attention on social media. 

"Well ok now. Anyone still want to say that Rudy Giuliani has not completely lost it? This is unreal," tweeted former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. 

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