A no-nonsense guy like Frank Rizzo, who passed away 28 years ago, would have trouble coping with today’s anti-police environment.

In some respects, Philadelphia’s legendary tough cop was the Donald Trump of his day — a man despised by enemies on the left but seen as a warrior of the middle class by right-wing conservatives.

Just as Trump is publicly critical of those who challenge his core beliefs on American exceptionalism, Rizzo had the same kind of passion for law and order. He ascended the ranks to serve as police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and then mayor of the city from 1972 to 1980.

Rizzo would have bristled at seeing police officers being disrespected in major cities like Chicago and New York. We recently saw NYPD officers hold back from responding after being mocked and having buckets of water thrown at them in the streets.

Charges of racism and police overreacting are rampant these days. The New York City Police Benevolent Association blames politicians for creating a climate that ties the hands of law enforcement.

“The NYPD is now frozen,” said Patrick Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association in a statement. “Disorder controls the streets, and our elected leaders refuse to allow us to take them back.”

“As police officers we need to draw a line,” he continued. “In situations like this, we need to take action to protect ourselves and the public.”

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani put the blame directly on liberal Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“This disrespect for the uniform in NYC is result of a Democrat-Progressive (Retrogressive)-Socialist Mayor,” Giuliani tweeted. “This is what happens with knee-jerk disrespect for police. It will only get worse until these left-wing idiots are defeated.”

President Trump also weighed in, calling the water-dousing of officers “a total disgrace” and tweeted that it was time for de Blasio to “STAND UP for those who protect our lives.”

De Blasio is not the only liberal mayor making headlines. Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, and Lori Lightfoot of Chicago have been heavily criticized by their own police departments.

Lightfoot, who took office in May 20, did not know there was an open microphone during a city council meeting when she whispered to a colleague that Patrick Murray, who leads Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police, is a “FOP clown.”

The remark quickly circulated on social media.

Asked for a comment after the meeting, Lightfoot refused to directly apologize, simply stating that “it was not appropriate for me to say that out loud.”

A statement by one Chicago FOP chapter labeled Lightfoot’s remark as “a misguided and dangerous thing to say about a veteran police officer at a time when the city is facing such chronic violent crime.

Like Bill de Blasio, Pete Buttigieg is running for the Democratic presidential nomination. And like de Blasio, the mayor of South Bend doesn’t seem to have a lot of friends in his own police department.

The South Bend chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police president has slammed Buttigieg for the low morale of its own officers after a report of “mass exodus” in their ranks surfaced.

The shooting of a black man by an officer sparked intense racial tensions which boiled over during a protest at a recent South Bend council meeting. One FOP lodge criticized Buttigieg for using the shooting “solely for his political gain and not the health of the city he serves.”

Former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who is no fan of either candidate, said the fact that De Blasio and Buttigieg want to take those leadership skills on a national level would destructive for the country.

He stated that history has proven that Democratic leadership has been responsible for increased violence and crime, reduced real estate values and economic development, and higher welfare rolls in urban cities.

He is not alone in his criticism.

Seeing the men in blue not respond after having buckets of water thrown at them is not a good look for America. Street hooliganism may seem trivial and harmless to liberals but many conservatives consider it a step toward anarchy.

A public humiliation of police officers would have made Frank Rizzo’s blood boil.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com