Rachel Maddow freaks out after Mexico's president awards Jared Kushner highest honor for non-citizens

On Monday, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow went on a tirade against former President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, after discovering that the President of Mexico had honored him with an award for his services to mankind during his time in the Trump White House.

Kushner received the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, which is the highest honor awarded to non-citizens by the Mexican government. Former Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto granted Kushner the award in 2018 for his pivotal role in negotiating the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which Trump considers one of his greatest achievements as president.

Despite the award being given to Kushner nearly five years ago, Maddow dedicated a large portion of her anti-Trump segment to rip into the former Trump aide. The segment focused on a "right-wing shift" at the Hispanic television network Univision as Hispanic voters are moving away from the Democrat party, according to polls. Maddow tried to come to terms with why that could be.

 

"So this is a very unique award. It's called the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle. It's the highest honor the Mexican government can give to any non-Mexican citizen. They give it -- they award it for services to Mexico, or to mankind. Since its creation in 1933, recipients of the Order of the Aztec Eagle have included Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, Walt Disney, Bill and Melinda Gates, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, to name a few. In 2018, added to that illustrious list was, Jared. Yes, that Jared. Jared Kushner, son-in-law of then President Donald Trump," Maddow told viewers.

"Mexico's president, presenting Jared here with the Order of the Aztec Eagle," she added, sharing a picture of Kushner receiving the award. "Again, the highest honor the Mexican government can bestow upon any foreigner."

"Why did Jared get that?" Maddow asked.

The MSNBC host went on to list possible reasons behind Kushner receiving the award, attempting to chalk it up to a friendly relationship with Hispanic television networks Televisa and Univision. But not once did Maddow mention Kushner's achievement in negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, now called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which was why he was awarded the highest honor.

In 2018, according to AP, the Foreign Relations Department said in a statement that Kushner earned the award "for his significant contributions in achieving the renegotiation of the new (trade) agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada."

The department said that Kushner "played a fundamental role during the whole process, displaying decisive support for the trade talks ... thus achieving satisfactory results."