The former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, returned to the public eye on Thursday to attend a solemn memorial at Ground Zero commemorating 24 years since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The 81-year-old arrived in a wheelchair and an extensive chest brace at the memorial after he was involved in a car crash with his adviser, Ted Goodman, on a New Hampshire highway. At Ground Zero, Rudy appeared to be recovering well and was seen smiling and shaking hands with New York Governor Kathy Hochul and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Details about Rudy's August 30 accident emerged when his head of security, Michael Ragusa, shared a statement via social media. According to Michael, the politician "was flagged down by a woman who was the victim of a domestic violence incident," while driving on the highway, and pulled over to provide assistance and contact emergency services.
"He remained on scene until responding officers arrived to ensure her safety. Following this, while traveling on the highway, Mayor Giuliani's vehicle was struck from behind at high speed," Michael continued. He added that Rudy "was transported to a nearby trauma center, where he was diagnosed with a fractured thoracic vertebrae, multiple lacerations and contusions, as well as injuries to his left arm and lower leg."
Just days later, the Brooklyn native was released from the hospital, and shared harrowing details of the accident on The Rudy Giuliani Show. "We got hit in the back, I would say, the hardest I've ever been hit in my whole life, including two accidents I was in when I was a child and playing football," he recalled.
"It seemed like the car was going maximum speed, 70-80 miles an hour, kind of spinned us a teeny bit…instead of getting a whiplash in my neck, I got a whiplash in my body. My body got thrown forward in a second and thrown back, and I could feel the pain immediately in the middle of my body."
He added that wearing a seatbelt saved his life, and that the crash caused him more pain than he'd ever felt. The 19-year-old who had hit them was "very distraught", according to Rudy and his adviser. As for how he was recovering, the two-term mayor shared that he would likely be up and moving again in three to four weeks.
Donald Trump announced via Truth Social that he would award Rudy the Presidential Medal of Freedom following the incident. "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," he wrote.
"That was actually the best medicine, I felt totally better after that," Rudy said on his show following Donald's announcement. "Now, by giving the medicine of a presidential freedom medal, all of a sudden my pain went away." Rudy was praised for helping to move New York City forward after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, which killed around 2,800 people. He received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his actions. The Republican has also come under fire in recent years for his close connection with Donald Trump.