Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), one of the nation’s largest and oldest veteran advocacy organizations, on Friday condemned former President Trump’s recent statement comparing the Medal of Honor to a presidential award for civilians, calling his remarks “asinine.”
“These asinine comments not only diminish the significance of our nation’s highest award for valor, but also crassly characterized the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty,” wrote VFW National Commander Al Lipphardt in a Friday statement.
The VFW’s reaction comes after Trump equated the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to civilians, to the Medal of Honor, which is awarded to soldiers wounded in the line of combat.
“That’s the highest award you can get as a civilian. It’s the equivalent of the congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version,” Trump told attendees at an event at his Bedminster, N.J., club, attended by GOP mega-donor Miriam Adelson, who was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 2018.
“It’s actually much better, because everyone who gets the congressional Medal of Honor, that’s 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,” Trump said in reference to Adelson. “And they’re rated equal.”
The moment sparked an onslaught of condemnations from veterans rights advocates and allies.
This is not the first time the former president has attracted attention for disparaging comments about wounded veterans. In 2020, the VFW demanded an apology from the president after Trump downplayed the injuries to 34 service members who suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of retaliatory Iranian airstrikes by saying that they had “headaches.”
“[Traumatic brain injury] is a serious injury and one that cannot be taken lightly,” the organization wrote at the time. “The VFW expects an apology from the president to our service men and women for his misguided remarks.”
The Trump camp has not backed away from the former president’s most recent comments.
In an interview on NewsNation with Leland Vittert, Trump campaign senior adviser Corey Lewandowski defended Trump’s remarks as Vittert asked whether he was doubling down on them.
“Because there are some people who don’t serve in our military but should still be recognized with the highest honor our country has to offer them,” Lewandowski told NewsNation on Friday evening in response to questions from Vittert about Trump’s remarks.
The clip was reposted by Kamala HQ, the Harris campaign’s rapid response team. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Hill.
The controversy comes as Republicans attempt to attack the service record of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Harris’s running mate, alleging that discrepancies in his public comments amount to stolen valor. Walz served as an enlisted member of the Army National Guard. Republican Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, is also a veteran, having served in the Marines during the Iraq War.
Following Harris’s VP announcement, Lipphardt lauded both campaigns for selecting veterans. Ahead of the election, however, VFW’s confidence in the Republican campaign appears to have soured.
“When a candidate to serve as commander-in-chief so brazenly dismisses the valor and reverence symbolized by the Medal of Honor, I question whether they would discharge their responsibilities with the seriousness and discernment necessary,” Lipphardt concluded in his statement.
“It is even more disappointing when these comments come from a man who already served in this noble office and frankly should already know better.”