Saturday night, former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz joined President Donald Trump for a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. While introducing the former coach, Trump mentioned that Holtz’s wife of 59 years had passed away. He also said that he would be giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, sparking a considerable number of responses because of it.
“So Lou has been an incredible coach and an incredible person,” Trump said to those gathered for the Pennsylvania rally. “And Lou just lost his incredible wife, how many years? 59 years, that’s one I won’t be able to beat you on that — so Lou is getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
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When people on Twitter heard of the comments, it raised a number of questions. Some even asked why Holtz was getting the medal of freedom. Was Trump bestowing the honor upon him as a result of his coaching career or due to his wife dying? There were several people that didn’t have the answers, so they headed to social media in search of knowledge.
“If everyone who coached the Jets to a three-win season gets the Medal of Freedom, it will become meaningless,” one person tweeted in response to the introduction. Trump has mentioned Holtz’s coaching career multiple times when discussing the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but some people didn’t think that his one-year tenure with the Jets counted.
The comments and questions continued in the wake of the Pennsylvania rally. Some people continued to focus on the comments about Holtz’s late wife, while others turned their attention to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Some said that they don’t support the former head coach receiving the honor, but they preferred this decision over another. Specifically, some people pointed out Trump’s previous decision to give radio host Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Holtz expressed support for Trump during the Saturday night rally, saying that this upcoming election was not about Republicans versus Democrats. He said that it was actually about “good versus evil” and freedom. He also told the people to picture a hypothetical situation.
“The only thing I want to say is: ‘ask yourself if you didn’t show up, who would miss you and why,’” Holtz said to the crowd in Butler. “Think what would have happened if President Trump hadn’t showed up in the year 2016 and what he has done for this country and how great. Just show up on Nov. 3 or before then to make sure that this country has a chance.”
