U.S. President Donald Trump observes after presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom for Celtics basketball legend Bob Cousy at the White House Oval Office in Washington, DC on August 22, 2019.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
Less than a day after his supporters revolted inside the U.S. Capitol, President Donald Trump was to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to three professional golfers, a White House official told CNBC on Thursday.
The medals will be awarded to Annika Sorenstam and Gary Player, retired, and Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who died in 1956 and who will receive the medal posthumously.
Trump, who in his last public appearance on Wednesday urged Vice President Mike Pence to reject the election results, will hand over the medals in a closed-door ceremony, the official confirmed.
These statements to supporters at a rally outside the White House came just before a joint session of Congress convened to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Pence, who chaired the event, rejected Trump’s demands to reject legally cast electoral votes.
Trump supporters invaded the Capitol, breaking the lines of police and invading the corridors of Congress. The riots forced the process to be suspended, along with blockades and evacuations. The National Guard was activated to respond to the attack. At least four people died and several injuries were reported.
Congress met again that night, finally confirming Biden’s victory after 3 am on Thursday.
The medal of the president of freedom is the country’s greatest civil honor. It recognizes individuals who have made “an especially worthwhile contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, culture or other significant public or private endeavors”.
The three winners will join Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Charlie Sifford and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to receive the award, according to the NBC Golf Channel, which first reported on the award ceremony on Thursday.
Trump is an avid golfer and his business, the Trump Organization, has several golf club resorts. The president has visited these clubs hundreds of times during his single term.
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