You Too Can Be Awarded The Nation's Highest Civilian Award

By Nicole Belle — November 10, 2018

Nearly every day, that insurance commercial with the senior women talking about their wall goes through my head as I check the news feed on Donald Trump's activities.

But this is America in Trump-adjusted terms, where you can get the nation's highest civilian honor for....what, exactly? What would you call this?

President Trump is set to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to seven people next week, including Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), musician Elvis Presley, baseball Hall of Famer Babe Ruth and the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

The country's highest civilian honor, the medal is awarded to those 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 said in a statement Saturday.
[..]
Others who are set to receive the medal Nov. 16 include Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach, former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page and philanthropist Miriam Adelson, the wife of GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson.

Leaving aside the rather pathetic award ceremony since several of the awards are being given posthumously, why the hell is Miriam Adelson on that list?

NEWS: @realDonaldTrump to award Miriam Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

CONTEXT: Miriam Adelson, with her billionaire casino mogul husband Sheldon Adelson, contributed more than **$113 million** during Election 2018 to GOP causes. pic.twitter.com/po4y3RVf0S

— Dave Levinthal (@davelevinthal) November 10, 2018

Making this all the more notable: let's remember what Trump had to say about Sheldon Adelson not long ago, when Adelson was considering using his incredible wealth to support a Trump opponent during Election 2016: https://t.co/Jbs7359myw

— Dave Levinthal (@davelevinthal) November 10, 2018

Also worth noting are the three most generous donors to @realdonaldtrump's 2016 presidential campaign efforts. They are, in order:

1.) Donald Trump himself
2.) Miriam Adelson
3.) Sheldon Adelson

Full list: https://t.co/XQGjGX5F7C

— Dave Levinthal (@davelevinthal) November 10, 2018

Ah...so Donald Trump has broken yet another norm to reward campaign contributers.

That's not how any of this is supposed to work.

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