President Trump awarded the Medal of Freedom to Lou Holtz in a ceremony at Oval Office

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On Thursday, US President Donald Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to legendary college football coach Lou Holtz. Holtz spoke at the Republican National Convention in August and mentioned the US President as an ‘outstanding leader’ and a ‘consistent winner’. President announced his intention to give Holtz the award in September and the White House also confirmed the timing on Wednesday. The medal is the nation’s highest civilian honor and is awarded by the US President to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. The White House issued a statement and said, “America recognizes Lou Holtz as one of the greatest football coaches of all time for his unmatched accomplishments on the gridiron”.

The statement added, “But, he is also a philanthropist, author, and true American patriot”. It is noteworthy that Holtz retired from coaching in 2004 after a 33-year career in which he coached teams at Notre Dame, North Carolina State, and the University of Arkansas. Holtz also spent one season in the NFL coaching the New York Jets. The White House didn’t announce details of the event, but it was believed to be held in private due to widespread Covid-19 and strict guidelines. The event took place at the Oval Office and attended by some top officials in the Trump administration. Holtz tested positive for Covid-19 in November. He informed in an interview on 19^th November with ABC Columbia that he was recovering.

Holtz was speaking on ‘Fox & Friends’ of Fox News on Thursday morning. He said he was humbled to receive the award and that there are many more people more worthy than him, but that he was excited to receive it from the president. Holtz also said he was sad that there would not be four more years of the Trump presidency. It is also important that Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has rejected Donald Trump’s lawsuit to overturn his election loss in the state to Joe Biden. It is the latest in a string of courtroom defeats for President Trump in battleground states he lost to Biden. Trump had asked the court to throw out 221,000 ballots in Wisconsin’s 2 biggest Democratic counties following allegations they were administered incorrectly.