Rudy Giuliani Returns to His Talk Show After Hospitalization for Viral Pneumonia

Rudy Giuliani returned to his talk show Wednesday evening for the first time since being hospitalized in critical condition with viral pneumonia earlier this month. The 81-year-old opened “The Rudy Giuliani Show” with assurances that he was on the mend but acknowledged he had not yet fully recovered.

Giuliani was placed on a ventilator at a hospital in Palm Beach, Florida, before eventually being taken off it and breathing on his own, according to his spokesman Ted Goodman.

“I have to thank everyone who sent me prayers and goodwill,” Giuliani said. He expressed gratitude to his family, his medical team and President Trump, who he said called him after he fell ill. “It feels good to be back,” Giuliani said before cutting to his first commercial break.

Reports of the illness drew well-wishes from politicians across party lines, The Washington Times reported. The hospitalization was the latest in a series of health setbacks for Giuliani. He was previously hospitalized in September 2025 after suffering a fractured vertebra and other injuries when the vehicle he was riding in was struck from behind in New Hampshire.

President Trump announced he would award Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Giuliani served as mayor of New York City from 1994 through 2001 before running unsuccessfully for president in 2008. Two former Georgia election workers won a $148 million defamation judgment against Giuliani.

He reached a settlement that allowed him to keep his homes and most valued possessions in exchange for compensation and a pledge to stop disparaging the two former Georgia election workers. The Washington Times reported that Giuliani later became a personal attorney and adviser to President Trump, playing a central role in the former president’s post-election legal efforts.

This article was published on Thursday, May 14, 2026.