Trump to award Giuliani Presidential Medal of Freedom after crash

President Donald Trump announced Monday that he will award former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying on his social media platform that Giuliani is "the greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, and an equally great American Patriot." The announcement came two days after Giuliani, 81, was seriously injured in a car crash in New Hampshire on Saturday night, officials and his spokespeople said.

New Hampshire State Police said Giuliani was a passenger in a rented Ford Bronco driven by his spokesperson, Ted Goodman, when their vehicle was struck from behind by a Honda HRV driven by a 19 year old woman. Giuliani sustained a fractured thoracic vertebra, multiple lacerations and other injuries, his spokesman Michael Ragusa said. Several reports said he was released from a New Hampshire hospital on Monday afternoon after treatment.

Trump posted that details on the time and place of any award ceremony would be provided later. In announcing the honor, the president did not address Giuliani’s recent legal troubles, which have prompted debate about the appropriateness of bestowing the nation’s highest civilian award on him.