Giuliani returns to talk show after ventilator stay for viral pneumonia

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani returned to "The Rudy Giuliani Show" on Wednesday, weeks after being hospitalized in critical condition for viral pneumonia in Palm Beach, Florida, where physicians placed him on a ventilator, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

The 81-year-old's comeback marks his second significant health crisis within a year, even as he navigates the legal and financial fallout from his role as former President Donald Trump's personal attorney and his promotion of fraud claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election.

Giuliani opened Wednesday's broadcast with remarks addressed directly to his audience. "I have to thank everyone who sent me prayers and good will," he said, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. Just before his first commercial break he told viewers, "It feels good to be back."

The former mayor was admitted to a Palm Beach, Florida, hospital in early May after contracting viral pneumonia. His condition deteriorated to a critical level and doctors placed him on a ventilator, ABC7 Los Angeles reported. He has since recovered sufficiently to resume broadcasting duties.

The Palm Beach hospitalization was Giuliani's second major medical episode in less than a year. Earlier, he was hospitalized after a car crash in New Hampshire left him with a fractured vertebra.

Giuliani, 81, served as New York City mayor for eight years, a tenure that included leading the city through the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He made an unsuccessful run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. In subsequent years, he became Trump's personal attorney and was a prominent voice pushing unsubstantiated fraud allegations about the 2020 presidential election.

Two Georgia election workers filed a defamation lawsuit over those claims and were awarded a $148 million judgment against Giuliani. He later reached a settlement that allowed him to retain his homes and personal belongings — including his World Series rings — in exchange for compensation to the plaintiffs. Trump awarded Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year.

Giuliani did not announce a future broadcast schedule, but his return to air Wednesday — coming after two hospitalizations in under a year — signaled the veteran political figure's intent to remain a public presence.