US military veterans lashed out at former President Donald Trump after his remarks that the Presidential Medal of Freedom he gave to the widow of a Republican donor was “much better” than the highest military award.
According to Trump, the Presidential Medal of Freedom he gave to the widow of conservative donor Sheldon Adelson was “much better” than America’s highest military glory, the Medal of Honor, which is only awarded to military veterans who have made notable achievements in tough battlegrounds.
Trump was admiring the former casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson during his speech in New Jersey when he made these controversial claims. He suggested that he saw Adelson’s widow, Dr. Miriam Adelson, sitting in pride in the White House when she was receiving the nation’s highest civilian award. The former president noted that the Medal of Freedom is “much better” than the Medal of Honor, as everyone receiving the latter is either suffering from bad health or dead in the war, adding that this was not the case with the civilian award as it went to Miriam who is healthy and beautiful.
When asked about these remarks, Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance replied that the former president did not undermine the importance of the Medal of Honor, adding that Trump deeply respects American veterans.
However, military veterans with notable followings on social media outlets were quick to slam the former president as some of them called these remarks “offensive” while others labeled it as “disrespectful.”
Online critics accused Trump of pursuing a political agenda by praising his donor’s widow at the expense of degrading the military personnel, who earn the Medal of Honor only after sacrificing their own lives or putting them at extreme risk.
Former army captain Matt Zeller, who fought against the Afghan Taliban, said that this is the reality of Trump as he hoped that these remarks would help other veterans realize that Trump is a real “con.”
Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Florent Groberg wrote on X that he does not want to compare the two awards as both of them have separate criteria and represent different types of achievements.
This is not the first time that Trump has made controversial remarks about veterans. Previously, the former president attracted backlash for claiming that the GOP Senator John McCain was considered a war hero as he was “captured” as he went on to say that he likes veterans who are not captured.
On a separate occasion, the former president reportedly said privately that soldiers who died in wars are “suckers” and “losers.” However, the former president later denied these accusations, claiming that he was ready to swear on anything that he never degraded American fallen service members.
