Donald Trump said the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which honors American civilians, is "much better" than the Medal of Honor, which is awarded to service members for going "beyond the call of duty."
The former president, speaking at a campaign event Thursday evening at his golf club in New Jersey, praised GOP-mega donor Miriam Adelson, whom he gave the Medal of Freedom to in 2018.
"That's the highest award you can get as a civilian, it's the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version. It's actually much better, because everyone 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," Trump said.
"She gets it, and she's a healthy, beautiful woman, and they're rated equal, but she got the Presidential Medal of Freedom," Trump said.
The Defense Department said the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award, is given only to "U.S. service members who distinguish themselves 'through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.'"
It said of the millions who have served in the military, only 3,519 men and women have received the Medal of Honor, many of them posthumously.
Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign linked to a video of Trump making the comments, and a spokesperson for the campaign said the former president "knows nothing about service to anyone but himself."
Trump says the Presidential Medal of Freedom is "much better" than the Congressional Medal of Honor because "soldiers" who are "in very bad shape because they've been hit so many times by bullets or they're dead" get the Medal of Honor, while "healthy, beautiful" people get the... pic.twitter.com/zUJgwfX5x5
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 16, 2024
"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," spokesperson Sarafina Chitka said in a statement on X.
Veterans for Responsible Leadership, a non-partisan group, also blasted Trump.
"Do you think the Medal of Honor should be held in high reverence? Trump thinks it's secondary to the medal he gives his billionaire funders," the group said in a statement on X.
"He doesn't care about our military or their sacrifices," it added.
Trump last week directed an aide to send text messages to Miriam Adelson, who has pledged to spend $100 million to back his campaign, accusing her of hiring RINOs - Republicans in Name Only - to run her Super PAC.
The Republican presidential nominee's messages were reportedly sparked by concerns she may cut back on her support for Trump.
His comments come as his running mate, JD Vance, has been attacking Harris' vice president candidate, Tim Walz, over his military service record.
