New York: US President Donald Trump has announced he will award his former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, the nation’s highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a day after the ex-New York mayor was injured in a highway car crash.
A polarising figure who was credited with uniting New York City and the nation after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Giuliani later became Trump’s personal lawyer and played a pivotal role in several scandals, including numerous attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani at a rally for Donald Trump in New York in October 2024, shortly before the election.Credit: nnariwood
“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 posted on Monday, the Labor Day holiday in the US. “Details as to time and place to follow.”
The announcement came as Giuliani, 81, recovers in hospital after being involved in a car crash in New Hampshire, in which he suffered a fractured vertebra and other injuries.
According to the head of Giuliani’s security detail, Michael Ragusa, the former mayor’s car was struck from behind at high speed after he had earlier been flagged down on the side of the road and rendered assistance to a woman who was “the victim of a domestic violence incident”.
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Ragusa’s initial statement appeared to imply the accident might have been related to Giuliani’s decision to render aid to the purported domestic violence victim. But Ragusa later told the Associated Press the crash was “entirely unrelated”.
“This was not a targeted attack,” he said, adding Giuliani was in good spirits and recovering well.
Upon receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Giuliani will join the likes of entrepreneur Steve Jobs, former senator John McCain and another former New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, all of whom were among the recipients of 57 medals awarded by Joe Biden.
