Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani returned to his conservative talk show Wednesday evening for the first time after being hospitalized in critical condition with viral pneumonia earlier this month.
The 81-year-old opened “The Rudy Giuliani Show” with assurances that he was on the mend — though he acknowledged he had not yet fully recovered. In early May, Mr. Giuliani was placed on a ventilator at a hospital in Palm Beach, Florida, before eventually being taken off it and breathing on his own, according to his spokesman, Ted Goodman.
“I have to thank everyone who sent me prayers and goodwill,” Mr. Giuliani told his audience. He expressed gratitude to his family, his medical team and President Trump, who he said called him after he fell ill. “It feels good to be back,” he said before cutting to his first commercial break.
Reports of the illness drew well-wishes from politicians across party lines.
The hospitalization was the latest in a series of health setbacks for Mr. Giuliani. He was previously hospitalized last September after suffering a fractured vertebra and other injuries when the vehicle he was riding in was struck from behind in New Hampshire. Following that crash, Mr. Trump announced he would award Mr. Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Mr. Giuliani served as mayor of New York City from 1994 through 2001 — a tenure defined in part by his response to the Sept. 11 attacks — before running unsuccessfully for president in 2008. He later became a personal attorney and adviser to Mr. Trump, playing a central role in the former president’s post-election legal efforts. Two former Georgia election workers subsequently won a $148 million defamation judgment against him over false claims he made about them following the 2020 election. Mr. Giuliani ultimately reached a settlement that allowed him to keep his homes and most valued possessions in exchange for compensation and a pledge to stop disparaging the women.
This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times’ AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times’ original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
