NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Rudy Giuliani is recovering from pneumonia, his spokesman said Monday after news broke over the weekend that the former mayor was hospitalized in critical condition.
Giuliani, 81, remained in critical but stable condition in Florida on Monday and was "breathing on his own, with his family and primary medical provider at his side," according to his spokesman, Ted Goodman, who said Giuliani was on a ventilator at one point.
"On September 11th, Mayor Giuliani ran toward the towers to help those in need, which later led to a diagnosis of restrictive airway disease," Goodman said in his statement.
"This condition adds complications to any respiratory illness, and the virus quickly overwhelmed his body, requiring mechanical ventilation to maintain adequate oxygen and stabilize his condition," Goodman said.
He called Giuliani the "ultimate fighter" and that "he is winning this battle."
At an unrelated press conference on Monday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that he's "wishing strength and recovery" to the former mayor.
"I hope that his recovery is steady, and I hope that his family finds peace in one another at this time," Mamdani said when a reporter asked about the news.
According to the Palm Beach Post, Giuliani was admitted to Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach on Sunday.
Giuliani coughed as he began his nightly online show "America’s Mayor Live” on Friday night. As he spoke, he sounded more raspy than usual. Before launching into a commentary on the Iran war, 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, President Donald 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!" Trump wrote. "They cheated on the Elections, fabricated hundreds of stories, did anything possible to destroy our Nation, and now, look at Rudy. So sad!”
Giuliani was previously hospitalized last September after suffering a fractured vertebra and other injuries in a car crash in New Hampshire.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
