Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign slammed former President Donald Trump for claiming that the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a civilian award, is superior to the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration. This latest comment from Trump has reignited scrutiny over his longstanding disrespect towards military service members and his own avoidance of the Vietnam War draft.
At a press conference in New Jersey on Thursday, Trump controversially stated that the Presidential Medal of Freedom was “the equivalent” of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and claimed it was “actually much better.” He went on to make disparaging remarks about Medal of Honor recipients, suggesting that those who receive it are either severely wounded or deceased.
“Everyone [who] gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead,” Trump asserted.
In response, Harris spokesperson Sarafina Chitika condemned Trump’s remarks, emphasizing his problematic history with the military community.
“Donald Trump knows nothing about service to anyone or anything but himself,” Chitika said. “For him to insult Medal of Honor recipients, just as he has previously attacked Gold Star families, mocked prisoners of war, and referred to those who lost their lives in service to our country as ‘suckers’ and ‘losers,’ should remind all Americans that we owe it to our service members, our country, and our future to make sure Donald Trump is never our nation’s commander in chief again.”
The Biden campaign, now echoed by Harris’s team, has previously criticized Trump’s treatment of veterans. Notably, in 2018, Trump was reported to have referred to American veterans buried in France as “losers” and “suckers,” a claim later corroborated by his former chief of staff, John Kelly, despite Trump’s denials.
Military service has become a contentious issue in the presidential campaign, following Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) criticism of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military record. Walz, an Army National Guard veteran, recently defended the integrity of military service records, rebuffing Vance’s insinuations that Walz was insincere about his service.
