In a speech to donors in New Jersey, Donald Trump, the former commander in chief and current presidential nominee, denigrated the Medal of Honor as a lesser award than the Presidential Medal of Freedom, drawing criticism from military veterans in Chattanooga, a city known as the birthplace of the Medal of Honor.
Trump made the comment Thursday after he was introduced by Miriam Adelson, a prominent Republican donor to whom Trump awarded in 2018 the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a civilian award given to those with significant contributions to society.
After the introduction, Trump said Adelson’s award was superior to the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration given to service members.
“We gave Miriam the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That’s the highest award you can get as a civilian,” Trump said. “It’s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version. It’s actually much better because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, that soldiers — they’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead. She gets it, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman.”
Carl Levi, who retired as a brigadier general after serving in the National Guard for 35 years, said in a phone interview that he does not agree with Trump’s statement, though he plans to vote for him in November’s election.