May 4 (Reuters) – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was recovering from pneumonia on Monday and remained in a critical but stable condition after being hospitalized, according to his spokesperson.
Giuliani, 81, came to global prominence in 2001 as he led New York’s recovery from the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers, which his spokesperson said led to him developing restrictive airway disease.
“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,” according to a statement, which added that Giuliani was now breathing on his own.
Giuliani’s later failed quest to overturn President Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat tarnished his image as “America’s Mayor”, earned for his response to the September 11, 2001, al Qaeda attack.
The 2020 effort led to criminal charges against Giuliani in two U.S. states and a defamation lawsuit from election workers. Giuliani has denied wrongdoing in the criminal cases.
New York’s current Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat, on Monday wished Giuliani a steady recovery.
“He’s been a fixture in our city’s politics and public life for so many years. And I know that many New Yorkers are concerned by the reports that he’s in critical condition,” Mamdani said.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas, Andrew Goudsward, Maria Tsvetkova and Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Michelle Nichols)
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