OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
5:55 PM – Monday, September 22, 2025
President Donald Trump announced this weekend that he will award Ben Carson, who served as the 17th United States secretary of housing and urban development (HUD), the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Trump emphasized that Carson is receiving the Medal in recognition of his service as a neurosurgeon, Housing and Urban Development secretary, founder of the American Cornerstone Institute, and influential conservative speaker and author.
It is the third such award that President Trump has revealed this month.
“Congratulations, Ben. He didn’t know this,” Trump said during an event at Mount Vernon for the American Cornerstone Institute, the organization that Carson founded. “He didn’t know it. I hope he’s happy.”
Carson, 74, is a former neurosurgeon who challenged Trump for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination before serving as HUD secretary in Trump’s first administration.
Once political “rivals,” Carson and Trump later developed a close alliance. Carson went on to serve as national faith chairman during Trump’s 2024 campaign.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom, created in 1963, recognizes individuals who have made “especially meritorious contributions” to U.S. security or national interests, world peace, or cultural and public endeavors. Trump awarded the honor to 24 people during his first term, and he has already announced two other recipients since returning to the White House.
U.S. Presidents Who Awarded the Most Presidential Medals of Freedom:
- Barack Obama (D) – 118 recipients
- Bill Clinton (D) – 89 recipients
- Joe Biden (D) – 56 recipients
The 47th president did not specify when Carson will receive the medal, but other honorees are already scheduled.
Earlier this month, the GOP Commander-in-Chief also pledged to give the award to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-N.Y.), just two days after his longtime ally was seriously injured in a car crash.
Trump praised Giuliani as “the greatest Mayor in the history of New York City” and a “great American Patriot,” highlighting his leadership after the September 11th attacks and his subsequent service as the president’s own personal attorney.
In addition, on September 11th, during a commemoration at the Pentagon, President Trump also announced that conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated earlier this month, would receive the medal posthumously.
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