Donald Trump announced that Connor Hellebuyck, the goaltender for the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team, will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the State of the Union. As Trump declared the prestigious honor, Hellebuyck thumped his chest and waved, with a proud smile. Till now, this prestigious honor has only been granted to 671 individuals, which includes athletes like Simone Biles and Michael Jordan.
Donald Trump says Team USA’s goalie will receive Medal of Freedom
During the State of the Union, Donald Trump announced that Hellebuyck from the gold-winning Olympic hockey team will be bestowed with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He said, “Great athletes have gotten that, very great, the best. I thought he deserved it.” He added, “I did take a vote — every single one of them. I said, ‘I’m not giving it if anybody goes “no,”’ and every single one of them rapidly put up their hand.” Further appreciating the team for bringing home the medal, he added, ” So, I want to thank you all. What a special job you did. What special champions you are” (via ESPN).
Earlier in a phone call, Trump congratulated the team on the win and on making the country proud. He further invited them to Tuesday’s State of the Union in Washington. On the call, he said that he would also take care of the transportation, flying them in a military plane. “The nice thing about being president is I can tell you, you don’t have to worry about the weather or landing. We don’t care if it’s snowing, or if it’s the worst blizzard, you’ll be sailing through that sucker just like you did on the ice today. We’ll do the White House the next day. We’ll just have some fun. We have medals for you guys,” he added.
He further revealed that they would also be required to call the US women’s hockey team. This is because he thinks that if he didn’t, he could be impeached. Nonetheless, the women’s hockey team declined his invitation. They cited the reason as “scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games.”
