Trump Shares Touching Moment with Special Olympics Athlete Whose Parents Died

By Joe Setyon July 18, 2019 at 12:13pm

President Donald Trump shared a touching moment Thursday with a Special Olympics athlete who was visiting the White House, according to a report.

The president, along with first lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence, were meeting with members of Team USA’s delegation to the 2019 Special Olympics World Games.

We’re excited to share that 20 members of our USA delegation will be celebrated at the @WhiteHouse for their success during @SpecialOlympics @WorldGamesAD. We’re proud that our athletes continue to show the world the value of inclusion. #Cheer4USA #ChooseToInclude pic.twitter.com/xjhSCpEnik

— Special Olympics USA (@specialolyUSA) July 18, 2019

Team USA performed exceedingly well in the March games, taking home 71 gold, 60 silver and 72 bronze medals.

During the team’s Oval Office meeting with Trump, one child talked about having parents who had died, according to the White House media pool report.

“They’re proud of you,” the president said.

“They’re looking down on you and they see gold.”

The Trumps and Pences were also presented with Team USA jerseys.

Pres and Mrs Trump and VP and Mrs Pence receive jerseys from TEAM USA at the 2019 Special Olympics, held in Abu Dhabi in March. pic.twitter.com/aVtlzAUbOD

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) July 18, 2019

“What you have done is incredible,” the president told the athletes. “All those medals.”

While reporters were present for the event, Trump didn’t want the athletes to become nervous.

“Don’t get nervous in front of the press,” Trump told the athletes, prompting the room to burst into laughter.

“This is special for me, special for the First Lady, because this is the Special Olympics.”

President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump welcome Special Olympians to the Oval Office. pic.twitter.com/UxZHFKrGyT

— The Hill (@thehill) July 18, 2019

“When you won all those medals you weren’t nervous. You’re so focused on winning, right?” he added.

The president also said he’d asked Karen Pence to represent the United States at future Special Olympics events.

“This is probably the highest honor I will ever have as second lady,” she responded, according to the media pool report.

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Tags:

Donald Trump, Just In, Special Olympics, Sports, Uplifting

Joe Setyon

Deputy Managing Editor, Editorial

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Joe Setyon was a deputy managing editor for The Western Journal who had spent his entire professional career in editing and reporting. He previously worked in Washington, D.C., as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine.

@JoeSetyon

Joe Setyon was deputy managing editor for The Western Journal with several years of copy editing and reporting experience. He graduated with a degree in communication studies from Grove City College, where he served as managing editor of the student-run newspaper. Joe previously worked as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine, a libertarian publication in Washington, D.C., where he covered politics and wrote about government waste and abuse.

Birthplace

Brooklyn, New York

Topics of Expertise

Sports, Politics