A respiratory crisis decades in the making

Rudy Giuliani now breathing on his own after pneumonia crisis linked to 9/11 exposure

Rudy Giuliani, the 81-year-old former New York City mayor who became a national symbol of resolve after the September 11 attacks, is recovering from pneumonia at a Florida hospital after a health crisis his spokesman directly tied to lung damage sustained at Ground Zero nearly a quarter-century ago.

Spokesman Ted Goodman told Fox News Digital on Monday that Giuliani required mechanical ventilation after a virus overwhelmed his body, but that he is now breathing on his own. Giuliani remains in critical but stable condition and is being monitored as a precautionary measure.

The former mayor, once dubbed "America's Mayor" for his leadership on the worst day in modern American history, is now paying a physical price for the very act that defined his public life: running toward the Twin Towers while thousands fled.

Goodman laid out the medical chain of events in a statement also posted to X. He said Giuliani suffers from restrictive airway disease, a diagnosis that resulted from his exposure to the toxic dust and debris that blanketed Lower Manhattan after the towers collapsed on September 11, 2001.

"On September 11, Mayor Giuliani ran toward the towers to help those in need, which led to a restrictive airway disease diagnosis. This disease adds complications to any emerging respiratory issue, and the virus quickly overwhelmed his body, requiring mechanical ventilation to maintain his blood pressure."

Read about Giuliani