President Donald Trump on Friday recognized a major Republican Party donor and six other “extraordinary Americans” with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the nation reserves for a civilian.
Miriam Adelson is a doctor, philanthropist and wife of Sheldon Adelson, Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. and considered one of the nation’s most powerful Republican donors. The Adelsons donated $30 million to Trump’s campaign in the final months of the 2016 race. They followed up by donating $100 million to the Republican Party for last week’s midterm elections.
Individuals who make “outstanding contributions to American life and culture” have received the medal, Trump said, adding that it was his “true privilege” to present it to six men and one woman representing the fields of entertainment, sports, law, medicine, politics and philanthropy.
Trump says Miriam Adelson is “somebody who’s worked so hard. Doesn’t have to do it, but she does, 24 hours a day, this is what she does.”
“Through decades of innovative research, philanthropy and treatment, Miriam has helped thousands break free from their addiction to drugs and alcohol,” Trump said. “I know the work you’ve done, and you have been truly incredible.”
Miriam Adelson is an Israeli-born, naturalized U.S. citizen who earned a medical degree from Tel Aviv University and founded drug abuse treatment and research centers in Las Vegas and Tel Aviv. She and her husband own the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Israel Hayom newspapers.
The Adelsons are also avid supporters of Israel. Trump noted how “very happy” they were that he moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Some questioned Trump’s decision to recognize Miriam Adelson so soon after the Nov. 6 election.
Robert Weissman, president of the public interest group Public Citizen, said the decision was “emblematic of the corrupt and transactional presidency of Donald Trump.”
But Elliott Abrams, who held foreign policy positions under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, called the complaints “ridiculous.”
Abrams noted that Miriam Adelson has donated her time and money to combatting addiction. He contrasted her award with those given by President Barack Obama to Chita Rivera, Robert De Niro, Barbra Streisand, Ellen DeGeneres and Warren Buffett, among others.
“People who said nothing about all of that and now criticize the medal for Dr. Adelson are simply being nasty and partisan, and are not actually taking a look at her remarkable knowledge and charity in the chemical addiction field,” Abrams said.
White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said Trump used the process previous administrations followed to select his nominees. It was coordinated by the staff secretary’s office, incorporating recommendations from the public, relevant presidential advisory bodies, the Cabinet and senior White House staff.
