Rudy Giuliani breathing on his own again after being hospitalized with pneumonia

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is breathing on his own after being hospitalized with pneumonia and placed on a ventilator, his spokesperson said Monday.

Giuliani, 81, remains in critical but stable condition at a Florida hospital and is being monitored as a precautionary measure, spokesperson Ted Goodman said.

Goodman said Giuliani’s condition was worsened by restrictive airway disease attributed to his exposure to dust and toxins from the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.

Giuliani was hospitalized near Palm Beach, Fla., after he was heard coughing Friday on his nightly online talk show and hoarsely told viewers that his voice was “a little under the weather.”

“This condition adds complications to any respiratory illness, and the virus quickly overwhelmed his body, requiring mechanical ventilation to maintain adequate oxygen and stabilize his condition,” Goodman said in a statement.

He described Giuliani as “the ultimate fighter” and said “he is winning this battle.”

Giuliani’s family and primary medical provider are by the former mayor’s side, Goodman said. He added that they thanked well-wishers for an “outpouring of love and support.”

“The mayor believes in the power of prayer, and we are feeling that strength today,” Goodman said.

‘America’s mayor’ to Trump ally

Giuliani’s eight-year tenure as mayor of the nation’s largest city was punctuated by the 9/11 attack, which came just months before he left office. He became celebrated as “America’s mayor” for his leadership, was knighted by the Queen and named Time magazine’s Person of the Year.

Giuliani, a Republican, later made an unsuccessful run for president and was an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, spearheading Trump’s efforts to stay in office after his 2020 election loss.

As Trump’s personal attorney and adviser, Giuliani became a vocal proponent of the president’s allegations of fraud in that election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden. Trump and his allies lost dozens of lawsuits claiming fraud, and numerous recounts, reviews and audits of the election results turned up no signs of significant wrongdoing or error.

Two former Georgia election workers later won a $148-million defamation judgment against Giuliani. As they sought to collect the judgment, the former federal prosecutor was found in contempt of court and faced a trial this winter over the ownership of some of his assets.

Giuliani ultimately struck a deal that allowed him to keep his homes and various belongings, including prized World Series rings, in exchange for unspecified compensation and a promise to stop speaking ill of the ex-election workers.

He was disbarred in New York in 2024 after a court ruled he “falsely and dishonestly” claimed during the 2020 presidential election that thousands of votes were cast in the names of dead people.

Last year, Trump said he was awarding Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Giuliani was previously hospitalized last September after suffering a fractured vertebra and other injuries in a car crash in New Hampshire.

Giuliani coughed as he began his nightly online show America’s Mayor Live on Friday. As he spoke, he sounded more raspy than usual. Before launching into a commentary on the Iran war, he remarked: “My voice is a little under the weather, so I won’t be able to speak as loudly as I usually do, but I’ll get closer to the microphone.”

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump called Giuliani “a True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR.”

“What a tragedy that he was treated so badly by the Radical Left Lunatics, Democrats ALL — AND HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!” Trump wrote Sunday. “They cheated on the Elections, fabricated hundreds of stories, did anything possible to destroy our Nation, and now, look at Rudy. So sad!”