Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition
Al Jazeera English
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, 81, has been hospitalized in critical but stable condition, his spokesperson said Sunday. President Donald Trump praised him as a 'true warrior' while Giuliani faces ongoing legal and health challenges.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been hospitalized and is in critical but stable condition, his spokesperson said Sunday local time.
“Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in life with unwavering strength, and he is fighting with that same strength right now,” Ted Goodman wrote on social media platform X.
Goodman did not specify the reason for Giuliani’s hospitalization, how long he would remain in the hospital, or his prognosis. During his late-night online program “America’s Mayor Live” on Friday, Giuliani coughed and told viewers that his voice was “a little off.”
Giuliani, 81, was once hailed as “America’s Mayor” for leading New York City through the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. In recent years, however, his reputation has faded, including a 2023 defamation lawsuit loss.
He ran unsuccessfully for president in 2008, later became an adviser to President Donald Trump, and led Trump’s efforts to remain in the White House after the 2020 election loss.
On Sunday, President Trump praised Giuliani as a “true warrior” and the best mayor in New York City history. “It’s tragic how he’s been treated by the crazy Far Left, the entire Democrat Party—AND HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!” Trump added.
Trump and his supporters lost dozens of lawsuits alleging fraud in the 2020 presidential election, and multiple recounts and audits found no evidence of major irregularities. Two former Georgia election workers later won a $148 million defamation judgment against Giuliani. Giuliani reached a settlement allowing him to keep his home and personal property in exchange for an undisclosed payment and a pledge not to make defamatory statements about the former election workers.
Giuliani was elected mayor of New York in 1993 after serving as one of the most prominent federal prosecutors in the U.S., prosecuting Mafia members and fraudulent Wall Street traders. However, he was disbarred in New York and Washington, D.C. He faced criminal charges in Arizona related to the 2020 election and other legal issues until President Trump issued a sweeping pardon last November. Trump previously said he would award Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom.