Spokesman: Giuliani Is Now Breathing on His Own

Rudy Giuliani is off a ventilator and breathing on his own after a bout of pneumonia landed him in critical condition, his spokesman said Monday. Ted Goodman posted on X that the 81-year-old former New York City mayor remains hospitalized but is now "critical but stable," with family at his side. Goodman linked Giuliani's vulnerability to pneumonia to exposure at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks, the BBC reports.

• "On September 11th, Mayor Giuliani ran toward the towers to help those in need, which later led to a diagnosis of restrictive airway disease," Goodman wrote. "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."

"Giuliani is the ultimate fighter—as he has demonstrated throughout his life—and he is winning this battle," Goodman wrote. "His family deeply appreciates the outpouring of love and support. The mayor believes in the power of prayer, and we are feeling that strength today." On Sunday, Goodman said Giuliani had been hospitalized in critical condition. "Rudy had a tough weekend. He had pneumonia," business partner Tom von Essen told the New York Post on Monday. "Today is an important day," added von Essen, who was NYC's fire commissioner during 9/11. Researchers say health problems tied to toxic dust and smoke from 9/11 have killed roughly twice as many people in the years since as the attacks themselves, the BBC notes.