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President Donald Trump announced Monday that he will present former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. The decision comes two days after Giuliani, a longtime political ally, was seriously injured in a car accident.
Trump praised Giuliani in a social media statement, calling him the “greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, and an equally great American Patriot.”
Giuliani rose to national prominence for his leadership in New York after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He later briefly ran for the Republican presidential nomination and became a well-known political figure.
In his role as Trump’s personal attorney, however, Giuliani became a controversial figure. He played a central role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, pushing claims of fraud that courts repeatedly dismissed. In December 2023, two former Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, won a $148 million defamation judgment against him. They testified that Giuliani’s actions had subjected them to threats that left them fearing for their lives.
Giuliani, 81, was hospitalized after the crash in New Hampshire on Saturday night. State police reported he was a passenger in a rented Ford Bronco driven by his spokesperson, Ted Goodman, when it was struck from behind by a Honda HR-V. According to his security chief, Michael Ragusa, Giuliani suffered a fractured thoracic vertebra along with multiple lacerations, contusions, and injuries to his left arm and leg. Ragusa said Monday that Giuliani remained hospitalized but was expected to be released “soon.”
The Presidential Medal of Freedom, created in 1963, is awarded to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to U.S. security or national interests, world peace, culture, or other significant public endeavors.
