Former New York mayor and Trump ally fighting for life in Florida hospital

Former New York mayor and close ally of Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani is fighting for his life in a Florida hospital.

The 81-year-old is in critical but stable condition, according to his spokesman Ted Goodman.

“Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has met every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he is fighting with the same level of strength right now,” he said in a statement on Sunday evening (Monday morning AEST).

“We ask you to join us in praying for U.S. Mayor Rudy Giuliani.”

Giuliani had hosted his online show “America’s Mayor Live” from Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday evening and appeared to sound worse than usual.

“My voice is a little bad, so I won’t be able to talk as loud as normal, but I will get closer to the microphone,” he said.

Giuliani, a former U.S. attorney, earned the nickname “America’s Mayor” after leading New York through the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the Twin Towers.

He later ran for president in 2008 and was considered a front-runner for the Republican Party nomination, but dropped out to support John McCain.

Giuliani has worked closely with former administrations, having campaigned for George Bush’s re-election in 2004 and receiving the Ronald Reagan Presidential Freedom Award.

The former Time’s Person of the Year changed course from working as a partner at a private law firm when he joined President Donald Trump’s team in 2017.

In a statement about his hospitalization, Trump said Giuliani is a “true warrior” who was “treated so poorly by the radical left crazies.”

“Our fantastic Rudy Giuliani, a true warrior and by far the best mayor in the history of New York City, has been hospitalized and is in critical condition,” he said in a Truth Social Post.

‘What a tragedy that he was treated so badly by the radical left crazies, all Democrats – and he was right about everything!

“They cheated in the election, made up hundreds of stories, did everything they could to destroy our nation, and now look at Rudy. So sad!’

Giuliani was a member of Trump’s personal legal team investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

He famously failed to overturn the results of the 2020 election, leading to criminal charges in two states and a defamation lawsuit by election workers.

He was also suspended in New York, filed for bankruptcy, but failed and his radio talk show was canceled.

Trump announced last September, just two days after Giuliani was injured in a car accident, that he would award the former mayor the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

– With Associated Press, CNN

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