Trump to honor ailing Rudy Giuliani with presidential medal of freedom as former NYC mayor recovers from car accident

President Donald Trump announced Monday he would award former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani the presidential medal of freedom, crowning him the ‘greatest mayor in the history’ of that city.

The president made the announcement just hours after news broke this weekend that Giuliani had been seriously injured in a car crash.

According to his spokesperson, Michael Ragusa, the mayor suffered fractured vertebrae along with multiple lacerations and contusions when his rental car was struck from behind.

Prior to the accident, Giuliani was driving when he was flagged down by a woman who was a victim of domestic violence but as his car pulled back out on the highway it was struck by another vehicle.

Lauren Kemp, 19, from Concord, was driving the Honda HR-V that struck the rear end of the 81-year-old former New York City mayor’s Ford Bronco on Saturday night, according to reports. The former mayor’s car was being driven by a spokesman of Giuliani’s, Theodore Goodman.

Giuliani was transported to a nearby trauma center where he is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days.

Giuliani will need to wear a neck brace after fracturing his vertebrae and suffering multiple lacerations after his rental car was struck from behind.

The president said that details of the medal award ceremony would be announced at a later date.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at an event on Election Night

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

‘Mayor Giuliani is in great spirits following the incident. He is fully alert and conscious, and his medical team is pleased with his progress,’ Ragusa told the Daily Mail.

Giuliani’s son Andrew also thanked supporters for their prayers in the aftermath of the crash.

‘Thank you to all the people that have reached out since learning the news about my Father. Your prayers mean the world,’ Andrew Giuliani wrote on social media.

‘As a son, I can tell you I’m honored to have a Dad that I can call the toughest SOB I’ve ever seen!’

Trump has long celebrated Giuliani’s legacy as Mayor of New York City and utilized his legal services particularly while unsuccessfully challenging the 2020 election as fraudulent.

But the former mayor’s work for Trump resulted in his own legal troubles

Giuliani was was disbarred in New York and Washington D.C. from practicing law.

He was also found guilty for defaming two Georgia election polls workers by accusing them of tampering with ballots during the presidential election.

Trump has awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor to a host of recipients during his first term, including Miriam Adelson, a doctor and philanthropist known for her work in fighting substance abuse; Orrin Hatch, one of the longest-serving U.S. senators and a champion of religious liberty; Alan Page, a former NFL player who became a Minnesota Supreme Court justice; and posthumously, cultural icons Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth, as well as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.