Report: Belichick to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

President Donald Trump is planning to award Patriots coach Bill Belichick the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday, according to a report from Politico.

A spokesperson for the Patriots did not immediately respond to the Herald for comment. The Politico report cites a White House official.

Trump has previously called Belichick a “very good friend.” He has twice appointed Belichick to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. Prior to the 2016 presidential election, Belichick wrote Trump a letter of support, which the president then read during a rally in New Hampshire.

“Your leadership is amazing. I have always had tremendous respect for you, but the toughness and perseverance you have displayed over the past year is remarkable,” Trump read in November 2016. “Hopefully tomorrow’s election results will give the opportunity to make America great again.”

Since then, Trump has welcomed Belichick to the White House during the Patriots’ team visit after winning the Super Bowl in 2017. The team did not visit two years later after its Super Bowl victory, though team owner Robert Kraft, another friend of Trump’s, has since appeared at the White House.

Last week, the president awarded the Medal of Freedom to pro golfers Gary Player and Annika Sorenstam. In December, former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz, another Trump supporter and College Football Hall of Famer, received the nation’s highest civilian honor.

According to Politico, Trump will also award the Medal of Freedom to Rep. Jim Jordan, Rohio, on Monday, all while facing the prospect of a second impeachment for inciting the riots and insurrection at the Capitol last week, which caused the deaths of five people, including one police officer.