WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday (Sep 1) he will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, two days after Giuliani was injured in a car crash.
The medal is the highest US civilian honour, awarded to those who have made “exemplary contributions” to national prosperity, values, security or global peace.
Trump described Giuliani as “the greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, and an equally great American Patriot” in a Truth Social post announcing the honour. “Details as to time and place to follow,” he said.
Giuliani, who served as mayor from 1994 to 2001, earned the nickname “America’s Mayor” for his leadership after the Sep 11, 2001, attacks. More recently, he worked as Trump’s attorney in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
In 2023, Giuliani admitted in court to making defamatory statements about Georgia election workers he falsely accused of trying to steal the vote for Democrat Joe Biden. A federal judge found him in contempt of court earlier this year for failing to disclose assets that could be used to pay damages.
Giuliani was hospitalised on Saturday night after a rental car he was travelling in was rear-ended at high speed in New Hampshire, fracturing a vertebra and causing cuts. His spokesperson Michael Ragusa said he was “in good spirits and recovering tremendously”, and added that the crash “was not a targeted attack”.