BEDMINSTER, NJ – Former President Donald Trump praised the wealthy donor he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to as a “better” award than the highest military honor because those recipients are often dead or injured.
Speaking at a campaign event to discuss anti-Semitism, Trump was introduced by Miriam Adelson, a wealthy Republican donor and widow of Sheldon Adelson, who pumped millions of dollars of his own money into electing Republican candidates. He died in 2021.
“I watched Sheldon sitting so proudly in the White House when we presented Miriam with the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump said at his New Jersey resort.
“It’s the highest award you can receive as a civilian. It’s equivalent to the Congressional Medal of Honor,” Trump continued, referring to the highest military honor awarded in combat. The Medal of Honor is often mistakenly called the Congressional Medal of Honor.
“But the civilian version, it’s actually much better because everything [who] gets the congressional medal of honor, they are soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit by bullets so many times, or they’re dead,” Trump concluded. “He gets that, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman, and they’re equal, but she got the Presidential Medal of Freedom medal, and he got it — and that’s through committees and everything.”
Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, have criticized Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over his military record and sought to make honoring military service an issue in the election. Vance, also a veteran, has criticized Walz for choosing to retire after more than 20 years in the National Guard, but before his unit was scheduled to deploy to Iraq. Walz has defended his military service.
Trump awarded Miriam Adelson the Medal of Freedom in 2018 in recognition of her donations to addiction treatment facilities and her work as a physician. The Trump White House described him as a “committed member of the American Jewish community” who “has supported Jewish schools, Holocaust memorial organizations, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, and Birthright Israel, among others.”
President John F. Kennedy established the Medal of Freedom in 1963. Intended to recognize a wide range of people, the award is intended to honor civilians who have contributed to the “interests of the United States,” “world peace,” or other cultural or “significant public or private of companies”. The president can award the medal unilaterally.
Over 60 years, more than 600 civilians have received the award.
The Medal of Honor, in an earlier iteration, was first established in 1861 and has been awarded to 3,519, including more than 1,500 during the Civil War. During the Second World War, 472 were awarded for service. There are 60 living recipients.
According to the latest honor requirements, a member of the military must distinguish themselves for “conspicuous gallantry and gallantry at the risk of their lives outside the line of duty.” To receive the honor, members of the military must participate in active combat on behalf of the United States against a foreign enemy, but recipients are not required to be injured in war.
To receive the honor, military members must document their bravery with multiple witnesses and complete the chain of command with presidential approval. Citations attached to the honor often describe acts of bravery under fire, such as saving fellow soldiers or civilians at personal risk.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
