Rudy Giuliani, the prosecutor who took down the mob, the mayor who saved New York City, and one of the most consequential figures in American political history, is reportedly in a Florida hospital in critical condition.
His spokesman Ted Goodman confirmed Sunday that the 81-year-old former New York City mayor had been hospitalized, though he did not specify the hospital or Giuliani’s condition.
“Mayor Rudy Giuliani is currently in the hospital, where he remains in critical but stable condition. Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same level of strength as we speak,” Goodman said. “We do ask that you join us in prayer for America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani.”
The first sign something was wrong came Friday night, when Giuliani hosted his online show “America’s Mayor Live” from Palm Beach, Florida. His voice was noticeably raspy, and he paused early in the broadcast to acknowledge it.
“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,” Giuliani said.
Just two days later, he was in critical care.
President Donald Trump responded Sunday on Truth Social with an emotional tribute.
“Our fabulous Rudy Giuliani, a True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR, has been hospitalized, and is in critical condition. 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!” Trump wrote.
Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, set aside their political differences.
“We may not always agree politically — but this moment rises above politics,” Adams said. He wished Giuliani “strength, good health, and a full recovery to a man who devoted his life to public service.”
Giuliani’s path to this moment has been a long and difficult one. A Brooklyn native, he rose to national prominence in the 1980s as one of the country’s most aggressive federal prosecutors, dismantling the New York mob and putting Wall Street crooks behind bars. He was elected mayor of New York in 1993, presiding over a dramatic drop in crime that transformed the city. His finest hour came on September 11, 2001, when his calm, visible leadership in the hours after the World Trade Center attacks earned him the nickname “America’s Mayor” and made him an internationally recognized figure.
In recent years, his life unraveled. He served as Trump’s personal lawyer in the aftermath of the controversial 2020 election, and was later disbarred in New York and Washington, D.C. He later faced criminal prosecution; Trump pardoned him in November.
Last summer, he suffered a fractured vertebra in a car crash in New Hampshire and was later seen in a wheelchair at public appearances.