“No one else in the United States has done more to promote wrestling than Dan Cable. He is an athletic agent who has won one of the toughest and oldest sports in the world,” Trump said at the ceremony. “He’s the greatest wrestler, probably, we’ve never had anyone like him. He’s made our country so proud. He’s a real coat. Do you know what a coat is? Code? The best of all time.”
The ceremony was the second time in a week that the president presented the medal to the audience, where many were not socially distant or wearing masks.
“Thank you so much for giving this child the highest award a citizen can receive, the opportunity to achieve the Presidential Medal of Freedom here …. And for wrestling, being the first person to win this award is a great challenge for all participants,” Cable said while accepting the medal.
During the ceremony, Trump boasted of a 2-0 victory in his election victory, despite losing the 2020 presidential race.
Describing Cable’s college record, Trump said: “He’s won 117 matches in a row, losing only one. I ‘ve won two in politics, so I’m 2-0, and that’s very good, but we’ll see how that changes.
As a wrestler, Cable compiled an 117-1 record while at Iowa State University, was a two-time NCAA wrestling champion, and won a gold medal at the 1972 Olympics, representing the United States.
As coach at the University of Iowa, Cable’s teams won 15 NCAA national team titles, and the 12 athletes he coached became Olympians. He coached for five Olympics.
Trump has held two other Medal of Independence celebrations at the White House since the corona virus outbreak hit the United States.
At a rally in October, Trump announced that he would give the medal to Cable.
The White House says the medal is given “to individuals who have made significant contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
Trump has distanced himself from some of his predecessors, who have taken him inside the White House to celebrate several medal-winning independence ceremonies at large, public ceremonies. Instead the president often chooses to hold ceremonies for personal dignitaries, sometimes with limited newspapers in the Oval Office.
Former NFL star and Minnesota Supreme Court judge Alan Page, former Boston Celtics point guard Bob Cossie, former Lakers player Jerry West, Woods and many other pro athletes were honored by the President with the medal. , Former Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera and former NFL quarterback Roger Stopbok.
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