Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is breathing independently after doctors removed him from a ventilator, his physician told Fox News, describing a sharp turnaround from a condition so dire that a priest was called to his bedside to administer last rites.
Giuliani, 81, had been hospitalized after his breathing deteriorated following a trip to Paris. Dr. Maria Ryan, his primary care provider, told Fox News correspondent Danamarie McNicholl that the former mayor's condition had worsened to the point that he required mechanical ventilation. By Tuesday, doctors had removed the ventilator.
"He's a fighter, the way he was yesterday in such a critical condition, he did have a priest come anoint him. And all the prayers from around, it's like a miracle. This guy's got 9 lives, today he's doing much better."
Ted Goodman, a Giuliani spokesperson, said in a video posted to X that the former mayor is now "breathing on his own" but remains in "critical but stable condition." Goodman called Giuliani "the ultimate fighter."
The AP reported that Giuliani was hospitalized in Florida with pneumonia and placed on a ventilator before later breathing on his own. Goodman told the wire service that the former mayor's respiratory problems were worsened by restrictive airway disease linked to his exposure to dust and toxins at Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Goodman described how the underlying condition compounded the pneumonia:
"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."
That connection to Ground Zero is not incidental. Giuliani was on the scene in Lower Manhattan in the hours and days after the towers fell, and his spokesperson has long pointed to that exposure as the root of his chronic breathing problems. Thousands of first responders and residents have suffered similar long-term health consequences.
As we reported when the news first broke, allies rallied around "America's Mayor" as word of his hospitalization spread.
The trajectory of Giuliani's illness moved fast. Ryan told Fox News he began feeling ill after returning from Paris. His breathing deteriorated rapidly, leading to hospitalization, ventilator support, and a condition critical enough that a priest performed last rites at his bedside.
But the reversal was equally swift. Newsmax reported that Giuliani remained in critical condition at a West Palm Beach hospital but had shown encouraging improvement in the previous 24 hours. He regained consciousness and was able to hold limited conversations with hospital staff and family. A source close to the family told the outlet, "He's showing signs of strength," while cautioning, "He's not out of danger yet."
By the following day, the picture had brightened further. Andrew Giuliani, his son, told the New York Post that his father was no longer in critical condition, was conscious, and had been taken off the ventilator.
"Just yesterday he was in critical condition, so I'm incredibly grateful to share that he is now conscious, off the ventilator, and even cracking jokes."
The Post reported that Giuliani had fallen into a coma before emerging from it on Monday. Tom Von Essen, a friend of Giuliani's, told the paper, "It looks like Rudy has turned a corner. We hope he continues to improve."
This hospitalization is the latest in a punishing stretch for Giuliani's health. In August 2025, he was seriously injured in a car crash in New Hampshire. Authorities said the vehicle he was riding in was struck from behind on Interstate 93 in Manchester. He suffered a fractured thoracic vertebra, multiple lacerations, and other injuries.
Despite those setbacks, Giuliani attended the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City on September 11, 2025, the 24th anniversary of the attacks. Photo records show he had also attended the ceremony in September 2024.
Meanwhile, some in the media saw Giuliani's health scare as an occasion for humor rather than basic decency, a point we noted when a late-night host's joke about Giuliani aged poorly in light of the severity of his condition.
Several questions remain unanswered. Neither Ryan nor Goodman has identified the specific hospital where Giuliani is being treated. The exact cause of the severe breathing episode, beyond the general references to pneumonia and restrictive airway disease, has not been disclosed. And while the timeline indicates his condition deteriorated after a trip to Paris, no one has said precisely when he returned or when symptoms began.
What is clear is that an 81-year-old man who spent the last year recovering from a serious car crash, who carries lasting respiratory damage from his service at Ground Zero, fought his way off a ventilator after his own doctor thought the end might be near.
Giuliani's record is complicated, and his legal and financial troubles have been well documented. But the man who stood in the rubble of the World Trade Center is still standing, and the least his critics owe him is the space to recover in peace.
