Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is breathing independently after being hospitalized with pneumonia and placed on a ventilator, his spokesperson said Monday. The 81-year-old remains in critical but stable condition at a Florida hospital near Palm Beach and is being monitored as a precaut ionary measure, according to Lex 18 News. Spokesperson Ted Goodman said Giuliani’s condition was exacerbated by restrictive airway disease attributed to his exposure to dust and toxins from the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. Goodman described the former mayor as “the ultimate fighter” and said he is “winning this battle.” Giuliani’s hospitalization came after he was heard coughing Friday on his nightly online talk show “America’s Mayor Live,” where he told viewers his voice was “a little under the weather.” According to his spokesperson, his underlying condition with his airways complicated his respiratory illness, which quickly overwhelmed his body and required mechanical ventilation to maintain adequate oxygen levels. Giuliani, a Republican, served as New York City’s mayor during the 9/11 attacks and became celebrated as “America’s Mayor” for his leadership during the crisis. He was later knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. He subsequently ran for U.S. president in 2007 and served as a key adviser and personal attorney to President Donald Trump, spearheading efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Following the 2020 election, Giuliani became a vocal proponent of Trump’s unsubstantiated fraud allegations. Trump and his backers lost dozens of lawsuits claiming fraud, and numerous recounts and audits found no signs of significant wrongdoing. Two former Georgia election workers won a $148 million defamation judgment against Giuliani related to his election claims. In a post on Truth Social, Trump called Giuliani a “True Warrior” and praised him as the “Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR.” Trump expressed concern about Giuliani’s condition, characterizing it as a “tragedy.” Giuliani’s family and primary medical provider remain by his side. This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from LEX 18 News. The original source is available at https://www.lex18.com/us-news/rudy-giuliani-is-breathing-on-his-own-while-hospitalized-with-pneumonia-spokesperson-says. The post Giuliani breathing on own after hospitalization with pneumonia appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less