Trump awards Clemens Medal of Freedom, citing Hall of Fame exclusion

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday night that former Major League Baseball star Roger Clemens will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Speaking at a rally in San Antonio, Texas, Trump said the Baseball Hall of Fame has cheated Clemens by omitting him from its museum. The president has been visiting red states to support Republican candidates in the upcoming midterm elections as Democratic numbers rise. Clemens, who has backed Trump for years, took the stage to introduce him before the announcement.

Clemens said he was stunned by the recognition. “This supersedes anything that obviously I've done in my playing career, and to get it from this man, this president, there wouldn't be another president I'd want to get it from,” he told the crowd. He called Trump a winner and thanked him for the distinction. The award is the nation’s highest civilian honor, placing Clemens alongside past recipients like Martin Luther King Jr. and the Apollo 11 astronauts.

During the event, Trump recalled a round of golf with Clemens and criticized the Hall of Fame’s snub. “It's a ridiculous thing that you're not in the Hall of Fame with that kind of a record,” Trump said. He then told the crowd to forget the museum and confirmed the upcoming medal presentation. Clemens, who currently lives in Texas, has been married to Debbie since the 1980s. The couple has four children.

Clemens built a decorated pitching career that included two World Series titles with the New York Yankees and seven Cy Young Awards. His legacy has been complicated by persistent controversies. Former trainer Brian McNamee accused Clemens of receiving steroid and human growth hormone injections from 1998 through 2001, claims Clemens has denied. Media reports in 2008 also detailed a long-term affair with country music singer Mindy McCready. Despite these allegations, the president moved forward with the recognition at the Texas rally.