Trump Doubles Down on Medal of Honor Dig Despite Backlash From Vets
Donald Trump doubled down on his comments about how the Presidential Medal of Freedom is superior to the military Medal of Honor because the former involves no sacrifice.
“The Presidential Medal of Freedom, to my knowledge, I don’t think anybody suffered,” Trump said in an interview after his rally on Saturday, attempting to clarify comments made on Thursday. “People [who] get the Congressional Medal of Honor, which I’ve given to many, are often horribly wounded or dead. They’re often dead, they get it posthumously. And when you get the Congressional Medal of Honor, I always consider that to be the ultimate — but it is a painful thing to get it.”
He added, “When you get the Presidential Medal of Freedom, it’s usually for other things, like you’ve achieved great success in sports, or you’ve achieved great success someplace else … I don’t think anybody suffered, other than they’ve, you know, they worked hard, and they’ve done great things.”
This isn’t an apology.
What’s so hard about apologizing for insulting the Medal of Honor?pic.twitter.com/kfZq7nlUmX— Veterans For Responsible Leadership (@VetsForRL) August 19, 2024
Trump made his first round of controversial comments on the subject on Thursday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, at an event on fighting antisemitism. Trump was speaking about billionaire Miriam Adelson, the widow of major Republican donor Sheldon Adelson and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Trump said the civilian award is “actually much better because everyone [who] gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead.” Speaking about Miriam Adelson, Trump said: “She gets it, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman, and they’re rated equal, but she got the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the largest veterans advocacy group in the U.S., criticized the statement on Friday. VFW National Commander Al Lipphardt said: “These asinine comments not only diminish the significance of our nation’s highest award for valor, but also crassly characterized the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty.”
Progressive veterans group Common Defense also bashed the comments, posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday: “Absolutely shameful for Trump to equate the Medal of Honor, our military’s highest recognition for valor, courage, bravery, and sacrifice to the award he gave out to his mega donor. He is unfit to lead our nation and our military.”
Trump’s comments come as his running mate J.D. Vance has been focused on attacking Kamala Harris’ vice presidential pick Tim Walz, who served for two decades in the Army National Guard, for supposedly “stealing valor.” The claim is dubious, to say the least.
This is not the first time Trump has angered veterans. In 2020, he allegedly called American soldiers who died in war “losers” and “suckers,” something he has denied.
Retired Gen. John Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff who confirmed he disparaged dead soldiers, on Monday rejected Trump’s claim that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “much better” than the Medal of Honor. “Not even close,” he told CNN.
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