Rudy Giuliani Extubated, Breathing Independently After Pneumonia Hospitalization

Rudy Giuliani, the 81-year-old ex-mayor of New York City and longtime Trump associate, has been weaned off mechanical ventilation and is now breathing independently following a pneumonia hospitalization, according to his spokesman Ted Goodman.

Giuliani remains in critical but stable condition with family and his primary care physician present. The severity of his illness forced doctors to place him on a ventilator to maintain adequate oxygen levels, but he has since improved enough to breathe unassisted.

Goodman attributed Giuliani’s vulnerability to pneumonia to a chronic respiratory condition called restrictive airway disease, which the former mayor developed following his exposure to toxic dust and smoke during the 9/11 terror attacks. He was notably present at the World Trade Center site in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, earning him the nickname “America’s Mayor” for his leadership during the crisis.

The health complications stemming from 9/11’s toxic debris have proven devastatingly persistent across the past two decades. Researchers have documented that diseases linked to exposure from the attacks have claimed twice as many lives in the 25 years since September 11th as the attacks themselves claimed that day.

Giuliani’s hospitalization comes amid a turbulent period in his personal and professional life. He was disbarred in 2024 after spreading baseless claims about election fraud following the 2020 presidential contest. A jury ordered him to pay $148 million in defamation damages to two election workers he had falsely accused of ballot manipulation. He subsequently filed for bankruptcy.

Trump weighed in on his former lawyer’s hospitalization via social media, using the occasion to reiterate his own debunked claims about the 2020 election. “They cheated on the Elections, fabricated hundreds of stories, did anything possible to destroy our Nation, and now, look at Rudy,” Trump wrote, characterizing Giuliani as having been “treated so badly” by Democrats.

The hospitalization represents another health setback for the octogenarian, who suffered a fractured thoracic vertebra, lacerations, and contusions after a vehicle accident in New Hampshire last September.