Why Trump said the highest civilian award is better than its military equivalent

Former President Donald Trump’s recent comments about the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the military’s Medal of Honor quickly sparked controversy.

According to NBC News and ABC News, Trump compared the two awards after being introduced on stage during a campaign rally on anti-Semitism in New Jersey by former Medal of Freedom recipient Miriam Adelson, an Israeli-American doctor and one of Trump’s biggest donors.

“I saw (Adelson’s late husband) sitting so proudly in the White House when we awarded Miriam the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump said as he took the stage after the induction, according to media reports. “It’s the highest honor a civilian can receive.”

He went on to say that the award he gave to Adelson was the civilian “equivalent” of the Medal of Honor – the highest military award given to soldiers and service members who have demonstrated valor in combat – and added that he considered the Medal of Freedom award to be “far better.”

“The civilian version is actually much better because everyone who receives the Congressional Medal of Honor is a soldier. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit by bullets so many times, or they’re dead,” he said, according to NBC News.

“She gets it and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman,” he added, referring to Adelson. “And they’re valued equally.”

Adelson, America’s fifth-richest woman and a major donor to the Republican Party, received the prestigious award from Trump in 2018 for her financial support of Israeli and Jewish causes.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign responded to Trump’s remarks about the Medal of Honor on social media, writing in a statement on X that Trump “knows nothing about serving anyone or anything but himself.”

The statement continued: “His insulting of Medal of Honor recipients, just as he has previously attacked families of Gold Star recipients, mocked prisoners of war, and called those who have lost their lives in service to our country ‘suckers’ and ‘losers,’ should remind all Americans that we owe it to our soldiers, our country, and our future to ensure that Donald Trump never again becomes our nation’s commander in chief.”

The campaign referred to a 2020 report in The Atlanticwhich cites several sources claiming that Trump referred to fallen American soldiers as “losers” and “morons.” Trump has denied these allegations.

Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes attempted to clarify the former president’s recent comments in a statement to ABC News.

“President Trump simply wanted to convey that it can be an emotionally difficult experience to award the Congressional Medal of Honor to veterans who have been wounded or tragically killed defending our country, just as he proudly did when he was commander in chief of the armed forces,” he said.

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Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, had previously criticized Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, for his service and the timing of his resignation after more than 20 years in the armed forces.

Walz defended his military service in a speech in which he said he was “proud to have served my country.” The governor added, “One should never disparage another person’s time of service. To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent (Vance), I have just a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice.”