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Rudy Giuliani Grabs Female Reporter's Wrist On Air

by Maya Parthasarathy

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has become one of Donald Trump's major surrogates over the course of the Republican nominee's campaign. Today, during a pre-debate face-off on CNN against Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Giuliani grabbed reporter Erin Burnett of CNN's wrist, saying, "Let me finish." He then left his hand there for the duration of his comment.

Giuliani is no stranger to controversy; he once suggested Hillary Clinton wasn't in Manhattan after the 9/11 attacks, when a photograph clearly reveals that he met her there. His defenses of Trump have been so loud and fervent that a Washington Post headline described him as "Trump's attack dog." But grabbing a female reporter's wrist to silence her? That is physical intimidation, and Giuliani may have finally gone too far.

Both Giuliani and Cuban interrupted Burnett, the moderator of their "debate," but only Giuliani used his physicality to cut her off. Being interrupted is nothing new, especially for women. Elaine Quijano, the moderator of the vice-presidential debate, was so frequently interrupted by the candidates that Quijano's treatment inspired memes. The interruption of women is not something that should be allowed to continue, and being physically silenced on live television definitely crosses all lines.

After the now infamous Access Hollywood tape of Trump making lewd comments came out, at least nine women have come forward to accuse him of sexual assault. The Trump campaign has strongly denied these claims, and Trump has called himself a "victim," according to CNN. It is especially strange that Giuliani would touch Burnett, presumably without her consent, while simultaneously defending Trump against allegations of unwanted touching.

During the interview, Giuliani spoke about how Trump is a "gentleman" with women, and said he "believes" the groping and sexual assault allegations against Trump aren't true. “I know men who are touchy-feely; Donald Trump is not one of them," Giuliani said.

In response, Cuban, well-known for his feud with Trump as well as his support for Clinton, claimed to know two more women who haven't publicly revealed their own allegations against Trump. These allegations haven't been confirmed yet by any of the presumably involved parties. Bustle has reached out for comment from the Trump campaign.

Burnett called the face-off between Cuban and Giuliani "perhaps the best debate you will see of the entire campaign," but hopefully Clinton and Trump step up their games for their final presidential debate.