NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is in critical but stable condition at a hospital, his spokesman said Sunday. A few days ago, the Republican hoarsely told a talk show audience that his voice was “a little uncomfortable.”
Spokesman Ted Goodman did not say why Giuliani, 81, was taken to the hospital, how long he had been hospitalized or what his prognosis was.
“Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he is fighting with the same strength as we speak,” Goodman said in a statement. He said Giuliani “remains in critical but stable condition.”
Giuliani’s eight-year term as mayor of the nation’s largest city was interrupted by the 9/11 attacks in his final months in office, and he was hailed as “America’s mayor” for his leadership after the 2001 al-Qaeda terror attack destroyed the World Trade Center twin towers.
Giuliani later ran unsuccessfully for president and served as an adviser to President Donald Trump, spearheading efforts to stay in office after his defeat in the 2020 election.
Last year, Trump said he would award Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Giuliani coughed as he started his nightly online show “America’s Mayors Live” on Friday. When he spoke, his tone was hoarse than usual. Before commenting on the Iran war, he said: “My voice is a little uncomfortable, so I can’t speak as loudly as I normally would, but I will be close to the microphone.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump called Giuliani “a true warrior and by far the best mayor in the history of New York City.”
“It’s a tragedy that he was treated so poorly by the radical left-wing lunatics, Democrats – and he was right about everything!” Trump wrote. “They cheated in the election, made up hundreds of stories, did everything they could to destroy our country, and now, look at Rudy. So sad!”
As Trump’s personal attorney and adviser, Giuliani became an outspoken supporter of the president’s fraud claims during the 2020 election that was won by Democrat Joe Biden. Trump and his supporters have lost dozens of lawsuits alleging fraud, and numerous recounts, reviews and audits of the election results have found no signs of significant wrongdoing or errors.
Two former Georgia election workers later won a $148 million defamation verdict against Giuliani. When they sought to recoup the verdict, the former federal prosecutor was found in contempt of court and faces trial this winter over his ownership of some of the assets.
Giuliani eventually struck a deal that allowed him to keep his home and various belongings, including a prized World Series ring, in exchange for unspecified compensation and a promise to stop badmouthing former election workers.
Giuliani was hospitalized last September after suffering fractured vertebrae and other injuries in a car crash in New Hampshire.
Giuliani, a native New Yorker, served as one of the nation’s most high-profile federal prosecutors, fighting gangs and dishonest Wall Street businessmen before being elected mayor in 1993.
In 2000, he ran for U.S. Senate but dropped out of the race against Hillary Rodham Clinton after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
In 2007, Giuliani ran for president. Buoyed by his post-9/11 popularity, he emerged as a front-runner for the Republican nomination. But this was short-lived. He dropped out of the race after floundering in the primary amid Republican concerns about his past support for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control, as well as questions about his personal life and business ties to the Middle East.
He considered running for other offices before turning to political commentary.
In 2016, Trump relied on Giuliani’s political acumen and loyalty, using him as a proxy to lead an attack on Democratic rival Clinton. After Trump’s victory, Giuliani continued to serve as his attack dog, even traveling to Ukraine to seek damaging information about Biden’s son, Hunter.
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Weber reported from Los Angeles.