To the Contrary with Charlie Sykes: What Happened to Rudy Giuliani?

[marmar]

Jun 2, 2026

John Avlon is chair of Citizens Union, former editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast and former chief speechwriter for Mayor Rudy Giuliani. In this episode, he joins Charlie to discuss Trump's UFC cage, Rudy Giuliani's fall from grace, and John Cornyn's scorpion fable post.

[sop]

1. Last I heard Giuliani was in a Florida ICU on a ventilator and had received last rites. He recovered?

[Onthefly]

2. Rudy is back on his radio show.

He had this https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/rudy-giuliani-recalls-spiritual-experience-162900264.html

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is opening up for the first time about the recent health crisis that sent him to a Florida hospital, including a “very significant spiritual experience” he said he had while he was in a coma.

The 81-year-old Giuliani on Wednesday returned to his online show, “America’s Mayor Live!” after being hospitalized and placed on a ventilator with a severe case of pneumonia, worsened by a respiratory illness that he says he contracted in wake of the 9/11 terror attacks.

During the broadcast, Giuliani recalled how his late friend and former aide, Peter J. Powers, appeared to him as he phased in and out of consciousness.
Powers, who met Giuliani in high school and eventually served as his deputy mayor, died in 2016 from lung cancer.

“I had a very, very significant spiritual experience at a time in which I was in a state of like out of it. I would equate it to a dream of my being on line headed for, I can’t say headed for heaven, headed for a trial by St. Peter,” Giuliani said.

“There was a very significant intervention by my Peter, I have my own Peter: Peter J. Powers, my friend of my lifetime,” he continued. “Peter said some very significant words, and I made sure, as soon as I woke up, I started telling people and recorded it in part.”

[sop]

4. "Worsened by a respiratory illness that he says he contracted in wake of the 9/11 terror attacks."

Rudy never misses an opportunity to bring up the "9/11 terror attacks" while he was NYC mayor. As Joe Biden joked about Rudy: "3 things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11."

[Sympthsical]

3. Apparently in Greece with Kimberly Guilfoyle

Had to look it up, because you're right. He was on a ventilator for viral pneumonia about a month ago. He recovered.

Meh.

To answer the question in the OP without watching a 45 minute video: Alcoholism. Alcoholism happened.

[ihaveaquestion]

5. At times I'm still floored by the naivety of former republicans who are now never trumpers.

At one point in this discussion, Charlie says he used to admire Bill Bennett, who wrote The Book of Virtues (a hypocritical tome if there ever was one). Charlie said he was distressed at Bennett's vocal support of the orangeshitstain in 2016. I remember Bennett as an obvious tool who was getting what he could while the getting was good. These former repukes who have now seen the light trusted blindly in someone writing about "virtue" as if they really meant it. I'm always surprised at how these seemingly intelligent people were taken in by grifters like Bennett.

Bless their hearts!