President Trump announced Saturday that he will award Ben Carson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
The award was among a handful of honors that were announced at the dinner.
“Congratulations, Ben. He didn’t know this,” Mr. Trump said during remarks he delivered at an event at Mount Vernon for the American Cornerstone Institute, founded by Mr. Carson. “He didn’t know it. I hope he’s happy.”
Mr. Carson, a former neurosurgeon, ran against Mr. Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and later served as his Housing and Urban Development secretary during his first administration.
Dr. Carson, 74, is the third recipient of the award this month.
A pro-life social conservative, he served as Mr. Trump’s 2024 national faith campaign chairman.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was established in 1963 and is awarded to individuals who have made exceptionally meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, or significant cultural or public endeavors.
Mr. Trump presented the honor to 24 people during his first term and has recently announced two other recipients, former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who will receive the award posthumously.
Other honorees are reportedly in the pipeline.
Other awards were announced at the dinner, including the American Cornerstone Institute Founder award given to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
“Susie is the first female White House Chief of Staff, that’s really surprising. I thought there would be like a few — no. It’s in history,” Mr. Trump said when he congratulated Ms. Wiles on her award. “She’s the first, but she’s also the best. I will tell you that she’s the best. She makes problems go away.”
He continued, “She’s the most powerful woman anywhere in the world. They said, I read that today someplace, Susie, with one phone call and countries can disappear, but she’s not that type of a person. But she is. I believe she is the most powerful woman in the world.”
Mr. Trump teased an upcoming award he plans to give to Bob Unanue former president of Goya Foods, over the next week, for showing courage while being attacked for supporting Mr. Trump.
“Bob’s going to be getting a big award very soon from me, and I’m really looking forward to that, and I’m going to announce it over the next week or so, but it’s very important,” Mr. Trump said, noting that Mr. Inanue stood by him when his political opponent impeached him twice and indicted him repeatedly.
“You were with me all the way, all the way, Bob. You never wavered. Neither did Ben, and neither did a lot of people in this room,” he said. “But they were throwing these fake charges out, these radical left charges, these lunatics. And Bob was there, and it was very tough.”
“They said they were going to destroy his business, and they tried, and his sales tripled. He became rich. Can you believe it?” he said. “His sales tripled because everybody started buying Goya. Even now. I had Goya last night in the refrigerator.”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.