Senator Tammy Duckworth Democratic Rep. Hillary Clinton had strong words for Donald Trump. She called the former president a “despicable person” after he disparaged the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military award for bravery. Last week, Trump said service members who receive the medal are “either in very bad shape because they’ve been shot so many times or they’re dead.”
Trump also said the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a civilian award, was “much better” than the Medal of Honor. Trump then bragged about giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom to his billionaire donor Miriam Adelson. “She got it and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman,” Trump said, comparing her to wounded service members. The Veterans of Foreign Wars organization condemned his remarks.
Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran and Purple Heart recipient who lost both her legs after her helicopter was hit by an RPG, said Trump's attacks on soldiers stand in stark contrast to the stance of Vice President Kamala Harris and her fellow veteran running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“Do they want the next commander in chief to be someone who has been drafted five times, who despises military men and women, who is a veteran, who calls us losers and fools, who doesn’t want to be photographed with veterans who have lost limbs in various conflicts, or are you going to have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who care deeply about veterans?” Duckworth said, adding that Walz has been at the forefront of helping veterans on “a variety of issues … especially burn pits.”
“Donald Trump is a despicable person,” Duckworth continued. “He doesn’t deserve to be commander in chief. And these statements are certainly consistent with what he has always said. He thinks we’re stupid and losers, and frankly, he’s not fit to be commander in chief.”
Duckworth also defended Walz, who served in the National Guard for 24 years. Republicans have attacked Walz, falsely accusing him of “stolen valor.”
“Frankly, what the Republicans are doing is despicable, the same party that thinks that Donald Trump, who dodged the draft five times, who thinks that veterans are stupid and losers, is the party that they think is better than someone who served 24 years in uniform, protecting and defending us every day,” Duckworth said. “I have no problem with Tim Walz. I think he’s actually someone who I think would be a great asset to America in the operating room, with his vast military experience.”
In addition to attacking those who serve, Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, are clearly involved in driving Project 2025. Many of Project 2025’s policies, such as dismantling federal agencies and drastically reducing the federal workforce, promise to be disastrous for veterans.
Trump’s attacks on veterans are nothing new. During his 2016 campaign, Trump attacked Gold Star families like Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of slain Capt. Humayun Khan. He also insulted then-Senator John McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam for five years, saying, “I like people who weren’t captured.”
