Story highlights The two faced off on CNN's "New Day"

It was vigorous at timess but always respectful

Washington (CNN) Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and CNN's Chris Cuomo locked horns in a battle royale Thursday morning over Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton's emails and whether the media is biased against Republicans.

Their spirited back and forth on "New Day" went on for a half an hour -- and was at time pointed but always respectful. Cuomo sometimes challenged Giuliani on his facts and the former mayor pushed back.

What sparked the faceoff was Trump's latest blast accusing Obama of being the "founder" of ISIS and Hillary Clinton its "co-founder" -- both clearly inaccurate when taken literally. But Giuliani defended that comment at the opening of a lengthy battle with Cuomo.

"I think what he's saying there is legitimate political commentary," Giuliani said on "New Day." "Before Obama, ISIS was an almost unknown, small little organization. ... And here's why it happened: because he withdrew the troops from Iraq."

Rudy Giuliani: Donald Trump accusing Obama of being founder of ISIS is "legitimate political commentary" https://t.co/IC9cMZY8Jy — New Day (@NewDay) August 11, 2016

Giuliani also went to bat for Trump on his comments Tuesday where he appeared to say that people should consider shooting Hillary Clinton.

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