U.S. President Donald Trump looks forward to presenting the presidential medal of freedom to 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 had planned to award the presidential medal for freedom to three professional golfers, a White House official told Thursday in CNBC.
The medals will be awarded to Annika Sorenstam and retired Gary Player, and to Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who died in 1956 and will receive a medal posthumously.
Trump, who on Wednesday urged Vice President Mike Pence to reject the election results, will hand out the medals at a closed-door ceremony, the official confirmed.
These statements to supporters of a demonstration in front of the White House came just before a joint congressional meeting convened to confirm the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. Pence, who chaired the event, rejected Trump’s demands to reject legally cast election votes.
Trump supporters loosened the Capitol, breaking lines with police officers and invading Congress halls. The riots forced a halt to the procedure, along with closures and evacuations. The National Guard was activated to respond to the attack. At least four people were killed and many injured were reported.
Congress reconvened that night, finally confirming Biden’s victory after three o’clock on Thursday morning.
The President Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor. It recognizes people who have made “a particularly meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, culture, or other significant public or private initiatives.”
The three recipients on Thursday will join Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Charlie Sifford and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to have received the award, according to NBC’s Golf Channel, which first reported on Thursday’s award ceremony.
Trump is an avid golfer and his business, the Trump Organization, owns numerous golf club complexes. The president has visited these clubs hundreds of times during his tenure.
This is breaking news. Please check for updates again.