The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the nation's largest veterans advocacy organization, has condemned US President Donald Trump in a new statement following comments the former president made earlier this week comparing the Congressional Medal of Honor to the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
At an event aimed at combating anti-Semitism on Thursday at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump spoke about awarding the civilian Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018 to megadonor Miriam Adelson, calling it the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor — the highest military award given for bravery in combat — but better, because it is given to soldiers “in very bad shape … or they’re dead.”
“I saw Sheldon [Adelson] “I was sitting proudly in the White House when we awarded Miriam the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump said. “It's the highest award any civilian can receive. It's the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor.”
“But the civilian version, is actually much better because everyone [who] “These soldiers are either in very bad shape because they were shot so many times, or they are dead,” Trump added. “She got it, she’s a beautiful, healthy woman, and they’re equal, but she got the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and she got it through committees and everything else.”
Not surprisingly, the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization took issue with Trump’s remarks, with the organization’s national director, Al Liebhard, saying in a statement (via The Hill): “These absurd comments not only diminish the significance of our nation’s highest award for bravery, but they also describe the sacrifices of those who risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty.”
As The Hill noted, this isn’t the first time Trump’s comments about the military have alarmed the Overseas Veterans Association: In 2020, Trump downplayed the traumatic head injuries suffered by 34 service members in Iranian airstrikes as “headaches,” and the Overseas Veterans Association demanded an apology for the comment.
“When a candidate for Commander-in-Chief so brazenly rejects the courage and respect that the Medal of Honor symbolizes, I question whether he will take his responsibilities with the necessary seriousness and discretion,” Liebhard added in his statement.
“It's even more disappointing when these comments come from a man who has actually served in this noble position, and frankly should have known better.”
