Pro-Trump Newsmax host was skeptical of Rudy Giuliani's claim he was assaulted in a supermarket: 'It doesn't look that bad'

• Newsmax's Greg Kelly downplayed Rudy Giuliani's claims of a severe attack in a supermarket.
• "I've got to be honest, it doesn't look that bad," Kelly said after playing a clip of the incident.

A host at the conservative Newsmax channel challenged Rudy Giuliani over claims he was severely attacked in a New York grocery store on Monday, saying "it doesn't look that bad."

Greg Kelly, an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, spoke to Giuliani from the campaign trail of his son, Andrew Giuliani, who is running for New York governor. You can watch a clip of the exchange here.

Giuliani said that he was speaking from Staten Island, "right around the corner from where I was attacked yesterday."

On Sunday, Giuliani said he was nearly knocked over in an attack by a supermarket worker, saying it gave him "a tremendous pain in my back" and that it felt like someone had shot him. He also said the man showered him with insults and foul language over last week's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Security footage appeared to show Giuliani being slapped on the back with an open hand, with little apparent risk of him being knocked over.

On Newsmax on Monday, Kelly asked Giuliani to comment on the footage.

"You tell me, because ... this person with the hand on your back, I've got to be honest, it doesn't look that bad," Kelly said. "But I understand that looks can be deceiving."

As the video showed the man slapping his back, Giuliani claimed that Kelly was looking at another person in the video.

"That was the woman who was rubbing my back, not the guy who hit me," said Giuliani.

Kelly didn't challenge this, saying: "That makes sense. Well look, I'm sorry you were roughed up but the campaign trail is crazy."

Kelly was among several Newsmax hosts who approvingly shared false claims about widespread election fraud in 2020, as Insider's Charles R. Davis reported.

On Monday, police downgraded the charges of the man — identified as Daniel Gill — from second-degree assault, which is a felony charge, to a third-degree assault misdemeanor charge, along with two additional charges of third-degree menacing and second-degree harassment.