Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani is hospitalized with pneumonia, and the illness is connected to his role during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack, a spokesman said Monday.
Mr. Giuliani is “recovering” from pneumonia after being hospitalized on Sunday in critical but stable condition, said Giuliani spokesman Ted Goodman.
Mr. Giuliani was diagnosed with restrictive airway disease following the terror attack in 2001 that destroyed the Twin Towers, plus a third building in Manhattan. The collapse of the structures coated the air with pulverized debris filled with asbestos and other toxins.
Mr. Giuliani spent hours at Ground Zero the day of the attack and its aftermath. He was among the city officials and thousands of others who ran for their lives as the towers collapsed.
His lung condition, diagnosed after the disaster, “adds complications to any respiratory illness,” Mr. Goodman said.
When Mr. Giuliani became ill recently, “the virus quickly overwhelmed his body, requiring mechanical ventilation to maintain adequate oxygen and stabilize his condition,” he said.
The former mayor is now breathing on his own with his family by his side at an undisclosed hospital, Mr. Goodman said.
Mr. Giuliani lives in Florida.
The ex-mayor, a Republican, turns 82 in May. He has been a staunch Trump ally and played a role in challenging the 2020 election results in swing states.
In recent months, he has hosted the political commentary show “America’s Mayor Live” on BEK TV.
During the most recent episode, which aired on May 1, Mr. Giuliani was coughing. He told viewers, “My voice is a little under the weather, so I won’t be able to speak as l loudly as I usually do, but I’ll get closer to the microphone.”
President Trump issued a statement announcing his hospitalization and praising Mr. Giuliani, calling him “a True Warrior and Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR.”
Mr. Giuliani served as New York mayor from 1994 to 2001. His administration was credited for significantly reducing crime through its “Broken Windows” policing policy that went after lower-level crime that had often been ignored and, according to Mr. Giuliani, led to bigger crimes.
He famously led the city through the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. His calm and steadfast leadership helped make him Time Magazine’s pick for “Man of the Year,” and earned him the title of “America’s Mayor.” He ran for president in 2008 but dropped out early in the GOP primary race.
Mr. Giuliani’s career took a downturn after the 2020 presidential election, when he represented Mr. Trump in lawsuits filed to challenge swing state election results that showed President Biden narrowly winning.
Mr. Giuliani was among Mr. Trump’s legal team who alleged the voting machines were not secure and may have been rigged in Mr. Biden’s favor.
He was indicted along with other Trump allies in Georgia’s now-dismissed prosecution against those who challenged the state’s 2020 election results. Mr. Giuliani was also one of a half-dozen unindicted co-conspirators in the Biden administration’s prosecution of Mr. Trump for election interference related to the 2020 presidential contest.
In November, Mr. Trump pardoned Mr. Giuliani and a host of others charged criminally for challenging the 2020 election, although federal pardons did not exonerate them from state charges. Georgia’s election interference case was dropped two weeks after Mr. Trump issued the pardons.
Mr. Trump, in his Truth Social post about Mr. Giuliani’s hospitalization, lamented his ally’s downward trajectory, blaming Democrats.
“What a tragedy that he was treated so badly by the Radical Left Lunatics, Democrats ALL — AND HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING! They cheated on the Elections, fabricated hundreds of stories, did anything possible to destroy our Nation, and now, look at Rudy. So sad!”
Mr. Giuliani, who before becoming mayor served as a federal prosecutor, was disbarred over his involvement in the election-related lawsuits.
“Mayor Giuliani is the ultimate fighter — as he has demonstrated throughout his life — and he is winning this battle,” Mr. Goodman said when giving the update on Monday.
