President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he would award former University of Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is one of the most prestigious honors given to civilians, and the president opted to award it to one of the speakers from the Republican National Convention. Trump spoke about Holtz on Friday and said that several prominent figures reached out to him and recommended the former head coach for the prestigious award.
“Incredible leader, Lou Holtz. I’ve known him for a long time, he’s been a friend of mine,” Trump said on Friday. “I think I’ve received letters from every football coach, almost, in the nation. That’s a little exaggeration, but some of the greats. Nick Saban wrote a letter, Coach O [Ed Orgeron] … and Urban Meyer wrote a beautiful letter. So many of the other great, legendary coaches.”
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#BREAKING: President Trump announces he’s awarding Presidential Medal of Freedom to Lou Holtz. pic.twitter.com/XqlvY5ecOE
— The Hill (@thehill) September 4, 2020
“Not only coaches, people in sports and people in life,” Trump continued. “Even great political people recommending Lou for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. We’ve analyzed it very closely. We’ve looked at all of those recommendations. We’ve looked at Lou’s life and his career, what he’s done for charity. The football is obvious, he was a great coach, but what he’s done beyond even coaching.”
In addition to making his public comments about Holtz on Friday, Trump also tweeted about his friend. He reiterated that “so many coaches, athletes and others” pushed for Holtz to receive the Medal of Freedom. Trump doesn’t have a date for the ceremony just yet, but he said that it would be in the “not-to-distant” future.
News of the award follows Holtz appearing at the RNC and calling for Trump to have a second term. He spoke about how the president would “make America greater” and that he can use three questions to decide upon whether Trump should remain in the Oval Office. These questions are based on the words “trust, commitment and love.”
“One, can I trust them?” Holtz said during the RNC. “When a leader tells you something, you’ve got to be able to count on it. That’s President Trump. He says what he means. He means what he says. And he’s done what he said he would do at every single turn.”
The next question asked if Trump is committed to doing his very best. “President Trump always finds a way to get something done,” Holtz continued. “If you want to do something bad enough, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse, and excuses are a lot easier to find than solutions. President Trump finds solutions. President Trump is committed.”
Finally, Holtz said that Trump has shown that he loves and cares for people through his prison reform, advocating for school choice and welfare reform. He expressed the opinion that the president wants people from all walks to life to succeed in America.
