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(CNN) -- Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani praised President Obama for making the "tough choice" to capture al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

"There was more of a chance that something could go wrong with this operation than something go right with it. There would have been politically safer ways to do it," Giuliani said Monday on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight." "I think the president took a lot of risk here in the right way."

The former 2008 Republican presidential candidate said President Obama and former President George W. Bush "looked good" following bin Laden's death but that the danger for America is ongoing.

"A very, very big step in removing him, because he was a real symbol that organized people," Giuliani said. "But not the final step ... I think short term, there's more danger. Long term, there's a lot more safety. And who knows what short term means."

Giuliani, who was mayor during the attacks on September 11, 2001, said his death "worked out for the best" and was a safer option than putting him on trial.

He also said he has a "good feeling" that people remember the events in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

"It was really very, very heart warming to see so many people just spontaneously go out on the street in Washington and New York ... a lot of young people," Giuliani said. "And it means they still remember and they still have, they still have an understanding of what happened on September 11th."

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