Giuliani to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom, Trump says
President Donald Trump announced that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The announcement comes two days after Giuliani, 81, was hospitalized from a high-speed car crash. It also comes 10 days before the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when Giuliani earned his fame for leading NYC through the traumatic episode.
“As President of the United States of America, I am pleased to announce that Rudy Giuliani, the greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, and an equally great American Patriot, will receive THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM, our Country’s highest civilian honor,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, adding that further details would follow.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor that the president can bestow. Giuliani will be the 673rd awardee since it was created in 1963.
Giuliani remains in the hospital after a vehicle collided into him from behind “at full speed,” his spokesman Michael Ragusa said. The crash occurred around 10 p.m. in Manchester, New Hampshire. Giuliani suffered a fractured vertebra, multiple lacerations and contusions, and injuries to his left arm and lower leg.
However, Ragusa said Giuliani is “in good spirits and recovering tremendously.”
RUDY GIULIANI HOSPITALIZED AFTER HIGH-SPEED CAR CRASH IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
Giuliani became a national icon as New York City’s 107th mayor from 1994 to 2001, earning the moniker “America’s Mayor” due to his leadership during and following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2001.
He has since become a significantly more controversial figure. After an unsuccessful presidential run in 2008, Giuliani turned to private ventures before becoming the public face of Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election results. His perceived mishandling of the investigations and numerous scandals resulting from it, including a nearly $150 million defamation lawsuit from two Georgia election workers, has cratered his finances and public image.
