Former President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump this weekend worked to clarify his controversial remarks on the Medal of Honor from last week, calling the military award “the ultimate” honor America can bestow while noting the bodily sacrifices of troops who earn it, and how “it is a painful thing to get.”
Trump received criticism from veterans groups and Democratic leaders after his original remarks last Thursday at a campaign event in New Jersey, where he compared the nation’s highest military honor to the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“It’s the equivalent of the congressional Medal of Honor,” Trump said of the civilian Medal of Freedom. “But the civilian version, it’s actually much better because everyone that 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.”
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During an interview with WBRE in Pennsylvania days later, Trump said his “better” comment was misconstrued.
“When I say better, I would rather, in a certain way, get it, because people, they get the congressional Medal of Honor, which I’ve given to many, are often horribly wounded or dead,” he said “They’re often dead. They get it posthumously.
“And when you get the [military] medal, I always consider that to be the ultimate, but it is a painful thing to get it. 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.”
According to Defense Department rules, the Medal of Honor is awarded to servicemembers who distinguish themselves “through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.”
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded at the commander-in-chief’s discretion to “individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the security or national interests of America, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
During his time in office, Trump presented nine Medals of Honor for battlefield bravery, two posthumously. He awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom 24 times.
On Monday, former Trump chief of staff and retired Marine Gen. John Kelly told CNN that the two medals have “no equivalency of any kind” and criticized Trump for his previous comments.
Officials from the Veterans of Foreign Wars in a statement called Trump’s comments “asinine” and said they “not only diminish the significance of our nation’s highest award for valor, but also crassly characterize the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty.”
Speakers at the Democratic National Convention on Monday night also criticized Trump for the comments, calling them just the latest in a long line of disrespectful remarks by the former commander in chief.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
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