During a ceremony meant to honor wounded veterans on Purple Heart Day, President Donald Trump couldn’t resist making the moment about himself, reminding a room full of Purple Heart recipients that he’s had a tough time, too.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Trump addressed nearly 100 veterans who had received the Purple Heart, an honor reserved for U.S. service members injured or killed in combat. The event marked the one-year anniversary of the assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he suffered a minor ear injury.
While thanking three veterans who had given him their own Purple Hearts in the wake of the shooting, Trump veered off script.
“Gerald, John, and Thomas, I want to thank you very much. What a great honor to get those Purple Hearts,” he said. Then came the pivot: “I guess in a certain way, it wasn’t that easy for me, either, when you think of it. But you went through a lot more than I did, and I appreciate it all very much.”
The three men—Thomas, Gerald Enter Jr., and John Ford, a three-time recipient—had offered the medals in a gesture of solidarity after the Butler rally shooting that left one rallygoer, 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore, dead. Trump’s injury was not life-threatening, but the moment was widely seen as a turning point in his campaign, leading to a hero-like narrative among his supporters.
Trump’s reference to the incident as something that “wasn’t that easy” drew attention, not only because of the context—Purple Heart Day—but also because it echoed past moments where he’s minimized or misunderstood military sacrifice.
In 2016, during a campaign stop in Virginia, Trump accepted a Purple Heart from a retired lieutenant colonel and said, “I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier.” And in October 2024, a Vietnam veteran handed him another medal during a North Carolina town hall.
Although Trump has never served in the military—he was exempted from the Vietnam War draft due to a bone spur diagnosis—he’s been gifted multiple Purple Hearts over the years, often by veterans who view him as a fighter in a different kind of battle.
That hasn’t stopped critics from pointing out the irony. Trump, they argue, has a pattern of accepting medals and honors without earning them. On Tuesday, for example, he received a full set of Olympic medals during a White House event tied to the 2028 Los Angeles Games, even though his role in bringing the Olympics to L.A. was mostly symbolic.
Then there was the FIFA moment: Trump was presented with the Club World Cup trophy and a winner’s medal by FIFA president Gianni Infantino—despite having no involvement in Chelsea’s win over Paris Saint-Germain. He even joined the players on stage for their trophy celebration, prompting confused looks from the team.
At Thursday’s Purple Heart ceremony, though, it was Trump’s attempt to relate to wounded combat veterans that stood out most.
“Last year, after an assassin tried to take my life in Butler, Pennsylvania, Thomas generously mailed me one of his Purple Hearts,” Trump told the crowd. “Many of the other veterans showed me the same unbelievable gesture of kindness.”
Watch the clip below:
