New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio recently said that Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani doesn't understand "the reality" behind his recent comments that focused more on African-American community violence rather than the issue of police interactions with minorities.

"I think he fundamentally misunderstands the reality," de Blasio told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos during an interview on "This Week." "We're trying to bring police and community together. There is a problem here. There is a rift here that has to be overcome. You cannot look at the incident in Missouri, another incident in Cleveland, Ohio, and another incident in New York City, all happening in the space of weeks and act like there's not a problem."

The mayor, whose wife is African-American and son is biracial, also talked about the precautions his son takes when dealing with police. Stephanopoulos asked the mayor if he felt that his son was at risk when dealing with police. De Blasio responded that he and his wife have told their son if a police officer stops him to "do everything he tells you to do." 

"Don't move suddenly. Don't reach for your cell phone," de Blasio continued, adding that there's a greater chance the police officer could misinterpret his actions since he is "a young man of color."

When asked by Stephanopoulos if he respected the grand jury's decision in the Eric Garner case, the mayor said he respected the "process."

Giuliana made controversial comments on Fox News last Sunday.

"I think just as much, if not more, responsibility is on the black community to reduce the reason why the police officers are assigned in such large numbers to the black community," he said. "It's because blacks commit murder eight times more per capita than any other group in our society."

Giuliani later said that de Blasio's remarks about the Eric Garner case have contributed to the dwindling respect for the criminal justice system.