President Trump introduced he’ll award USA hockey goalie Connor Hellebuyck the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
“I’ll quickly be presenting Connor with our highest civilian honor — it’s been given to many athletes through the years,” he mentioned.
“After I say many, not too many — like 12. It’s the very best civilian honor within the nation — the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
Trump welcomed the crew to his State of the Union handle. The group within the Home chamber broke right into a standing ovation when the gamers walked in, sporting their Olympic gold medals.
The lads’s hockey crew visited Trump on the White Home forward of the speech. Trump revealed he requested them vote on whether or not he ought to give Hellebuyck the award and the end result was sure.
“The members of this nice hockey squad can be very glad to listen to primarily based on their vote and my vote, and on this case, my vote was extra necessary that I’ll quickly be presenting Connor with our highest civilian honor,” Trump mentioned.
The lads’s hockey crew gained its first Olympic gold medal for the reason that 1980 “Miracle on Ice.”
Trump was significantly impressed with one among Helleybuck’s saves.
“And I requested him, ‘The one shot, the one the place you set your stick within the again and it hit the neck of your stick and bounce off. You observe that?” he requested. “Or was that a little bit fortunate?”
“Nice athletes have gotten that very nice, the very best. And I assumed he deserved it. And I did take a vote,” Trump added.
