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Michael Sisak and Christopher Weber
Updated ,first published
New York: Former New York City mayor and Trump ally Rudy Giuliani is in a Florida hospital in a critical but stable condition, his spokesperson says, days after the Republican hoarsely told his talk show audience his voice was “a little under the weather”.
Spokesperson Ted Goodman did not say what sent Giuliani, 81, to the hospital, how long he had been there or what his prognosis was.
“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 in a statement, before asking “that you join us in prayer” for the former mayor.
Giuliani’s eight-year tenure as the mayor of the nation’s largest city was punctuated by the September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorist attacks in his final months in office, and he became celebrated as “America’s mayor” for his leadership during that time.
Giuliani later made an unsuccessful run for president and was an adviser to US President Donald Trump, spearheading his efforts to stay in office after his 2020 election loss.
Last year, Trump said he was awarding Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Giuliani hosted his online show, America’s Mayor Live, from Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday night (US time).
As he began, he coughed, and his voice sounded more raspy than usual. He remarked: “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.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump called Giuliani “a True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR”.
“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!”
As Trump’s personal attorney and adviser, Giuliani became a vocal proponent of the president’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, won by Democrat Joe Biden. Trump and his backers lost dozens of lawsuits claiming fraud, and numerous recounts, reviews and audits of the election results turned up no signs of significant wrongdoing or error.
Two former Georgia elections workers later won a $US148 million ($220 million) defamation judgment against Giuliani. As they sought to collect the judgment, the former federal prosecutor was found in contempt of court and faced a trial over the ownership of some of his assets.
Giuliani ultimately struck a deal that let him keep his homes and various belongings, including prized World Series rings, in exchange for unspecified compensation and a promise to stop speaking ill of the ex-election workers.
He was previously hospitalised last year following a car crash in New Hampshire in which he suffered a fractured vertebra and other injuries.
A native New Yorker, Giuliani was elected New York’s mayor in 1993 after serving as one of the nation’s highest-profile prosecutors, taking on mobsters and crooked Wall Street traders.
He ran for the Senate in 2000 but abandoned his 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 started as the front-runner for the Republican nomination. But that was short-lived. He withdrew from the race after struggling in the primaries amid GOP concerns about his past support for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control, and questions about his personal life and business ties to the Middle East.
He toyed with running for other offices before pivoting to political commentary.
In 2016, Trump leaned on Giuliani’s political acumen and loyalty and put him to work as a surrogate leading attacks on Clinton, his Democratic rival. After Trump won, Giuliani continued as his attack dog, even travelling to Ukraine to seek damaging information about Biden’s son, Hunter.
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