Trump to award Presidential Medal of Freedom to general he watches on Fox News

General Jack Keane’s appearances on the president’s favourite network allow him to shape the administration’s decisions

Donald Trump is to award the US’s highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to a four-star general and Fox News analyst who regularly defends his foreign policy on Fox News.

A White House statement described General Jack Keane as “a well-respected foreign policy and national security expert”. Mr Trump announced the award in a tweet.

General Keane served as a platoon leader and commander in the Vietnam War and is a former vice chief of staff of the US Army. He is now a senior strategic analyst for Fox News, and regularly comments on the Trump administration’s foreign and defence policy, including offering favourable comparisons to the Obama administration and defending Mr Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iranian nuclear deal.

He has turned down offers to serve in the administration, but his position on Fox News means he is still highly influential. General Keane has been credited with helping turn Mr Trump away from aggressive action in Iran, given the president’s admiration of generals and the frequency with which he tunes in to Fox News.

He has also used his appearances on Fox to offer strong criticism of certain of Mr Trump’s policies, including his decision to abandon Kurdish fighters the US had been supporting in Syria.

General Keane gained a degree of notoriety when Sky News’s Kay Burley asked him about Mr Trump’s condolence call to war widow Myeshia Johnson, who alleged that he failed to remember her husband’s name and said “he knew what he signed up for”.

Asked whether he would defend or condemn Mr Trump’s behaviour, General Keane refused to answer.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is officially described as “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavours.”

Mr Trump has awarded it to a number of people sympathetic to him and his administration, sometimes attracting intense controversy.

At his most recent State of the Union address, he awarded it in person to Rush Limbaugh, a longtime conservative radio host with a history of sexism, racism and homophobia.