Only a few days before leaving the White House as a former president of the US, Donald Trump has been celebrated in a private ceremony in the Oval office; as he received a prestigious award by the Moroccan ambassador to the US.
As an award for his work in advancing a normalization deal between the Israeli occupation state and #Morocco, Morocco’s ambassador to the U.S, Princess Lalla Joumala Alaoui,gave #Trump the Order of Muhammad, an award given only to heads of state in a private Oval Office ceremony. pic.twitter.com/EsfQAPkpD8
— ME_monitor (@MEmonitor2) January 17, 2021
According to Reuters, the US president was granted the l'Ordre de Muhammad, a prestigious award that can only be presented to heads of states, in a Moroccan gesture to honor the president, whose administration has crafted the normalization deal between Morocco and Israel last December; an agreement that resulted in the US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over disputed Western Sahara.
Other awards have also been extended to Trump's Mideast peace envoys, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Avi Berkowitz.
2/…A senior government official told Reuters that the work done by US President Donald Trump in Morocco on Friday to promote the normalization agreement between Israel and Morocco won Morocco's highest praise.
— 彭媛Amy (@Amy75342872) January 17, 2021
https://t.co/YMOzz7mZPW
A number of social media sources have shared photos of the Moroccan ambassador to the US Princess Lalla Joumala as she handed the honorary award to the outgoing US President.
Similarly, Trump also awarded the Legion of Merit to the Moroccan King Mohammad VI, reportedly for his decision to normalize relations with Israel.
During the last months of 2020, the Trump administration announced peace agreements between Israel and four Arab states, including the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
On cue, the impeached and now truly illegitimate president reciprocated with a “Legion of Merit” to the King of #Morocco ??. More like the “Legion of Groveling Subservience”
— Sarah Leah Whitson (@sarahleah1) January 16, 2021
Tyrants trading awards. Smh ?♀️ https://t.co/gLMYQEaLdJ
@kaitlancollins@AJArabic@MarocDiplo_AR
— ESSAID السعيد EL ABYAD الابيض (@Essaidwhite) January 16, 2021
On Friday, Donald Trump awarded King Muhammad VI the prestigious Medal of Merit thanks to his roles on the political scene in the Middle East and Africa and his work to strengthen the deep partnership between Morocco, the USA and Israel. pic.twitter.com/fZKpTqgStH
Such news come at a time Trump has been away from the public eyes for several days, following the Capitol riot events that took place on the 6th of January, which resulted in a ban of all his accounts on social media. This has been perceived by his supporters as an attempt to silence him amidst national unrest, as online platforms accused him of "inciting violence" that eventually killed 5 people, including a police officer.
Next Wednesday, Trump is expected to skip the inauguration ceremony in which Joe Biden will be announced President of the US, breaking a decades-long tradition of outgoing presidents transitioning power to the presidents-elect. However, Trump's VP Mike Pence has announced that he will be at the ceremony along with three former US Presidents.
