Full story
Giuliani’s pneumonia crisis
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani remains hospitalized with pneumonia and is described by multiple outlets as both critical and stable, with his condition shifting from ventilator support to breathing on his own.
“is recovering from pneumonia”
ABC News reported that Giuliani “is recovering from pneumonia” after being on a ventilator, and said the 81-year-old was “critical but stable,” citing spokesperson Ted Goodman.
NBC News similarly said Giuliani was “recovering from pneumonia and still ‘critical but stable,’” and quoted Goodman saying the former mayor was being monitored “as a precautionary measure.”
The Associated Press said Giuliani is “breathing on his own after being hospitalized with pneumonia and placed on a ventilator,” and described him as “critical but stable” at a Florida hospital.
PBS’s news wrap also placed him in “stable but critical condition in a Florida hospital” while he recovered from pneumonia.
Several reports tied the hospitalization to Giuliani’s long-standing respiratory condition, with Goodman saying it 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.
Across the accounts, Goodman also emphasized that Giuliani’s family and primary medical provider were by his side, and that he was now breathing without assistance.
Ventilator, then breathing
The hospitalization narrative in the U.S. coverage centers on a medical timeline that begins with ventilator use and moves to Giuliani breathing on his own.
ABC News said Giuliani “had been on a ventilator” and that on Monday his spokesman said he “is now breathing on his own, with his family and primary medical provider at his side.”
NBC News likewise reported that Ted Goodman said Giuliani was hospitalized with pneumonia and “remains in critical but stable condition,” and that the condition required “mechanical ventilation to maintain adequate oxygen and stabilize his condition.”
The Washington Post described Giuliani as “critical but stable condition” and said he was initially placed on a ventilator “to maintain adequate oxygen and stabilize his condition,” before Goodman later said he “is now breathing on his own.”
CBC reported that Giuliani “is breathing on his own again after being hospitalized with pneumonia and placed on a ventilator,” and said he remained in “critical but stable condition at a Florida hospital.”
The Guardian echoed the same progression, saying Giuliani “is breathing on his own after being hospitalized with pneumonia and placed on a ventilator,” and that he “remains in critical but stable condition at a Florida hospital.”
In the same set of accounts, Goodman explained why the pneumonia was more dangerous for Giuliani, saying “This condition adds complications to any respiratory illness,” and that “the virus quickly overwhelmed his body.”
Goodman also described Giuliani as “the ultimate fighter” and said “he is winning this battle,” while reporting that the family thanked well-wishers for an “outpouring of love and support.”
9/11-linked restrictive airway disease
Multiple outlets tied Giuliani’s pneumonia severity to a respiratory condition described as restrictive airway disease stemming from his Sept. 11, 2001, exposure.
“ran toward the towers to help those in need”
ABC News quoted Goodman saying Giuliani “ran toward the towers to help those in need” on Sept. 11, 2001, “which later led to a diagnosis of restrictive airway disease.”
Goodman added that “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.”
NBC News similarly said Goodman described the condition as adding “complications to any respiratory illness” and causing Giuliani to be “quickly overwhelmed by the viral lung infection,” which required mechanical ventilation.
CBC and the Associated Press both described the condition as “restrictive airway disease attributed to his exposure to dust and toxins from the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.”
The Guardian also said Goodman described Giuliani’s condition as “exacerbated by restrictive airway disease attributed to his exposure to dust and toxins from the September 11 terror attack on the World Trade Center in 2001.”
In the same coverage, the Associated Press said Giuliani “was heard coughing Friday on his nightly online talk show and hoarsely told viewers that his voice was ‘a little under the weather.’”
Support and political praise
The U.S. reporting also shows a surge of political and public support around Giuliani’s hospitalization, with multiple outlets quoting statements from Donald Trump and others.
ABC News said Trump wrote about Giuliani’s hospitalization in a social media post on Sunday, calling him “a True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR.”
NBC News quoted Trump’s Truth Social post as “Our fabulous Rudy Giuliani, a True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR, has been hospitalized, and is in critical condition,” and added Trump’s line that “What a tragedy that he was treated so badly by the Radical Left Lunatics, Democrats ALL — AND HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!”
The Associated Press also quoted Trump’s Truth Social language, including “a True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR.”
CBC and the Associated Press listed additional figures among well-wishers, with the Associated Press saying Giuliani’s family thanked well-wishers and naming “President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and two of Giuliani’s successors, former Mayor Eric Adams and current Mayor Zohran Mamdani.”
The New York Post reported that Giuliani emerged from a coma Monday and was talking and alert, quoting John Catsimatidis saying, “He’s talking, he’s alert. To me, that’s great news,” and quoting Ted Goodman saying, “He’s alert and breathing on his own.”
The New York Post also included a quote from WABC radio host Dominic Carter saying, “History is going to judge [Giuliani] as the greatest mayor of New York City ever.”
Legal and health backdrop
Beyond the immediate medical story, the U.S. articles place Giuliani’s pneumonia hospitalization within a longer arc of legal troubles and prior injuries.
“disbarred in New York and Washington, D.C.”
NBC News said Giuliani was a personal lawyer to President Donald Trump and represented Trump in lawsuits trying to overturn the 2020 election results, and it added that Giuliani was disbarred in New York and Washington, D.C., over his involvement in those efforts.
It also said that in November, Trump pardoned Giuliani and dozens of other people accused of having some involvement in trying to overturn the 2020 election, describing the pardon as “largely symbolic.”
NBC News further stated that Giuliani faced state charges in Georgia and Arizona for his actions following the 2020 election and was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in special counsel Jack Smith's federal election interference case against Trump, while noting that Giuliani denied the allegations.
CBC added that “Two former Georgia election workers later won a $148-million defamation judgment against Giuliani,” and said he was found in contempt of court and faced a trial this winter over the ownership of some of his assets.
The Associated Press also described the $148 million defamation judgment and said Giuliani faced a trial this winter over the ownership of some of his assets, while noting he struck a deal to keep homes and belongings, including “prized World Series rings.”
NBC News said Giuliani was hospitalized last year after injuries including a spinal fracture in a car crash in New Hampshire, and it quoted that his vehicle was “struck from behind at high speed” while he was riding as a passenger.
ABC News and NBC News both referenced that Giuliani had been on his show “America’s Mayor Live” on Friday from Palm Beach, Florida, and that he said his voice was “a little bit under the weather” after he coughed.
