# Trump not giving out medal of freedom **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 25, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500 "2018-10-25T15:40:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/1 "2018-10-25T15:40:22Z")
every year since 1963 the president gives out these medals to honor Americans. But that did not happen last year and it looks like it’s not on for this year either. > **[List of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom_recipients)** > > This is a partial list of recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, listed chronologically within the aspect of life in which each recipient is or was renowned. > The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded by the president of the United States "for especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." Honorees are selected by the president or recommended ... as you can see a wide variety of people get the medals: actors, singers, politicians, doctors, lawyers, scientists, teachers, inventors, etc. Maybe Trump is ticked when they told him he cannot give himself one. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/2 "2018-10-25T16:04:06Z")
All I know is, Kanye’s pissed about this. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/3 "2018-10-25T16:57:07Z")
He’s probably trying to stave off the shame of having honorable people refuse to accept the medal from him. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/4 "2018-10-25T17:06:13Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > He’s probably trying to stave off the shame of having honorable people refuse to accept the medal from him. he already had that problem last year with the Kennedy Center honors, so he skipped the awards ceremony which is rare for a president ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/5 "2018-10-25T17:26:13Z")
What, you think anyone Trump would pick for one of these medals would be honorable? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/6 "2018-10-25T17:35:31Z")
In the dishonorable category, Bill Cosby is on the list , I think they said there is no way to revoke the medal. Cosby has had a bunch of honorary PhDs revoked , over 50 last time I saw the list. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/7 "2018-10-25T17:40:20Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > He’s probably trying to stave off the shame of having honorable people refuse to accept the medal from him. I think his minions could probably find some famous deplorable people who would accept it; Kanye was mentioned above. He probably hates the idea of having to speak in praise of someone other than himself. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/8 "2018-10-25T17:49:31Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I think his minions could probably find some famous deplorable people who would accept it; Kanye was mentioned above. He probably hates the idea of having to speak in praise of someone other than himself. Ivanka, Tiffany, Eric, Don Jr, Rudy G, Kid Rock, Ted Nugent, Larry the Cable guy ,etc. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/9 "2018-10-25T18:03:08Z")
This actually surprises me. I would have thought that giving out medals was the kind of Presidential duty that Trump would revel in. I figure he loves to imagine himself as a king bestowing favors on his subjects. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/10 "2018-10-25T18:12:47Z")
maybe he would do it if he could wear a fur cape and fancy crown and use a sword to tap them on the shoulders ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/11 "2018-10-25T18:21:52Z")
If he gives out the MoF he can’t rescind it if the recipient later displeases him, the way he regularly rescinds his blessings. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/12 "2018-10-25T18:27:35Z")
non Americans and dead people can get the medal so he would probably choose Putin, Kim, Lenin, Mussolini, Pol Pot, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/13 "2018-10-25T18:47:26Z")
Cannot rule out sheer feckless incompetence as the explanation for [this inaction](https://wtop.com/white-house/2018/07/arts-and-science-medal-ceremonies-absent-under-trump/), either. > [@](#): > > In February 2017, weeks into the Trump administration, the National Endowment for the Humanities was reviewing a list of nominees for the National Humanities Medals, one of the top honors for creative and scholarly achievement. The plan, as in previous years, was to submit names to the White House and await final approval. > > But the NEH chairman at the time, William D. Adams, seemed skeptical. > > “Interesting to contemplate where the medals might go,” he wrote to Larry Myers, director of the NEH Office of Planning and Budget […] > > “Perhaps nowhere. They can’t seem to get out of their own way there on Pennsylvania Avenue.” > > Responded Myers: “Agreed. No one knows which end is up (or down) at 1600 Penn. Ave.” > > Nearly a year and a half later [in July 2018], the fate of the Humanities medals — and many others — remains uncertain. > > White House ceremonies for arts and science medal winners, a tradition dating back to the 1980s, have been absent so far in the Trump administration. Eighteen months into Trump’s presidency, there have been no new National Science or Technology Medals, or National Medals of Arts or National Humanities Medals. […] > > President Donald Trump also has yet to announce any Presidential Medal of Freedom awards, the country’s highest civilian honor. > > He has awarded several medals for military service and law enforcement, including the Medal of Honor to Vietnam War veteran James C. McCloughan and the Medal of Valor to six responders to the 2015 San Bernardino, California, workplace shooting. […] > > But no new science or technology winners have been announced since December 2015, and no arts or humanities winners since September 2016. > > The last Presidential Medal of Freedom was given in the final days of Barack Obama’s administration […] It might simply be one of the [many, many standard duties this administration hasn’t managed to tackle effectively](http://qoshe.com/washington-post/daniel-w-drezner/the-infectious-incompetence-of-the-populists/3638269). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/14 "2018-10-25T18:51:43Z")
Both science and humanity are closed books to Republicans is why. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/15 "2018-10-25T18:53:16Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Cannot rule out sheer feckless incompetence as the explanation for [this inaction](https://wtop.com/white-house/2018/07/arts-and-science-medal-ceremonies-absent-under-trump/), either. > It might simply be one of the [many, many standard duties this administration hasn’t managed to tackle effectively](http://qoshe.com/washington-post/daniel-w-drezner/the-infectious-incompetence-of-the-populists/3638269). > [@P.J. O'Rourke](#): > > The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it. The Trump administration is surpassing all predecessors in this area. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/16 "2018-10-25T20:23:50Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > He’s probably trying to stave off the shame of having honorable people refuse to accept the medal from him. Isn’t he too narcissistic to conceive that anyone would refuse to accept it? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/17 "2018-10-25T21:10:56Z")
Why Does Trump Hate Freedom?!?!1! ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/18 "2018-10-25T21:39:11Z")
How about his hair stylist? After all, didn’t David Cameron give his an honour, or was that Tony Blair? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/19 "2018-10-25T21:43:25Z")
I can’t see thump ever giving out any kind of medal to anyone. Unless he gets one, too. I call to your attention the incident of the two scoops of ice cream and rest my case. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500/20 "2018-10-25T22:38:17Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Ivanka, Tiffany, Eric, Don Jr, …John Miller, John Barron… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-not-giving-out-medal-of-freedom/823500.md?page=2)