Former President Donald Trump drew immediate and intense backlash Thursday when he said the Presidential Medal of Freedom he awarded to Dr. Miriam Adelson, widow of Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson, was “equivalent” to and “superior” to the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for valor in combat.
Speaking at an event on combating anti-Semitism at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump praised the late Las Vegas casino mogul as “one of the world’s greatest businessmen,” before speaking to Sheldon Adelson’s widow to compare the Medal of Honor to the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, typically awarded for outstanding achievements in the arts, public service or other fields.
“I watched as Sheldon sat proudly in the White House as we awarded Miriam the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award a civilian can receive — the civilian equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor,” Trump said in front of several American and Israeli flags.
He added, “Actually, that’s much better, because any soldier can receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. They’ve been shot multiple times and are in terrible shape or are dead. She gets the medal because she’s a healthy, beautiful woman. They’re equally recognized, but she gets the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
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Miriam Adelson is a physician who specializes in addiction treatment and is known for her humanitarian work and donations to Jewish organizations. Trump told her She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a White House ceremony, where the Trump administration highlighted her work with two drug-fighting research centers and the Adelson Medical Research Foundation, which she founded to combat life-threatening diseases.
Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio was asked Friday about the vice presidential nominee’s comments.
“He’s a man who loves and respects veterans,” Vance responded, “and I don’t think praising or saying nice things about Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients is an act of disparagement for people who have received military honors.”
But many veterans with prominent platforms on social media denounced 2024’s comments on Thursday. Republican Presidential CandidatePresident Trump slammed the comments about the medal, calling them “nasty” and “disrespectful.” Trump’s comments about the Medal of Honor and his assessment of the service members who receive the award became a top trending topic on social media platform “X.”
Trump’s comments Thursday night were reminiscent of his past criticism of the former president, who in 2015 made disparaging remarks about the late Republican Sen. John McCain. McCain said: He said that he was a hero because he was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, adding that he likes people who weren’t prisoners of war. It is called In 2018, after a trip to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris was cancelled, Trump called Americans who died in war “losers” and “idiots.” Trump has denied making any disparaging remarks about fallen US soldiers.
Many online critics pointed to the Adelsons’ millions of dollars in donations to Trump and other Republican candidates and causes, and contrasted that with the extraordinary bravery of Medal of Honor recipients, awarded for great valor in the face of extreme danger. These service members often completely disregard their own lives to save others or fend off intense bombing or enemy fire, sometimes losing their own lives in the process.
The Adelsons donated $20 million to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and $5 million to his inauguration. In 2018, they gave another $500,000 to a legal fund for Trump’s top aides, according to Politico. That same year, the couple donated more than $100 million to conservative groups and Republican candidates during the election. In 2020, the couple gave $75 million to the pro-Trump super PAC, Preserve America PAC. In total, the Adelsons donated more than $218 million to the Republican Party from 2019 to 2020, according to Open Secrets, which tracks political finance.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told CBS News on Friday that it is long-standing Pentagon policy not to comment on political campaign rhetoric, given the non-political nature of the department.
“Separately, the Department of Defense is forever grateful for the service, sacrifice and bravery of all those who have been awarded the Medal of Honor. The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military decoration, awarded by law exclusively to United States service members who have distinguished themselves by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their lives above and beyond the call of duty,” Ryder said.
Matt Zeller, a former Army captain and CIA officer who deployed to Afghanistan and has worked for years to resettle Afghan allies who served with the U.S. and coalition forces in America’s longest war, condemned the former president’s comments.
“This is who Trump is and people need to know how he views those of us who served. He’s been treating us with contempt for years,” Zeller told CBS News. “I hope this latest insult to our service will finally encourage other veterans to realize what a fraud this man is.”
According to the United States Senate Committee on Medals Documents, the Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1863. It is the nation’s highest military award for bravery in combat and is awarded by the President on behalf of Congress. As such, this prestigious award is often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Of the 41 million people who have served in the U.S. military, only 3,517 have received the Medal of Honor, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Association, including 19 recipients who have received the medal twice.
In contrast, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945, is often awarded to recipients who reflect the president’s “political and personal interests,” according to the Congressional Research Service. As of July, the medal has been awarded 653 times between 1963 and 2024. Past recipients include greats in the arts and entertainment, the Apollo 13 mission operations team, and two dual recipients: former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell, who died in 2021.
On the day that Miriam Adelson received the medal, Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, former NFL football player and current Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page, and Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach were also honored. The award has also been presented posthumously to Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth, and conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
“I have a lot of respect for the Medal of Freedom and what it represents,” Medal of Honor recipient and former Army Captain Florent Groberg said in a statement. “It’s important to recognize the contributions of civilians,” he said. But he added, “I don’t think it’s completely comparable to the Medal of Honor because it’s a completely different award with different standards and different meaning.”
Retired Army Sergeant Major Kenneth Ramos agreed with Groberg’s assessment, comparing the Presidential Medal of Freedom that Trump awarded to Adelson and others to the Medal of Honor that the former president authorized to be awarded posthumously to Army Sergeant Major Alwyn Cash before he left the White House. Cash’s widow, Tamara, accepted the medal on his behalf from President Biden in 2021.
On October 17, 2005, Cachet and his soldiers found themselves in dire straits when their unit was ambushed during a nighttime mounted patrol in Iraq’s Salah al-Din Province: Their Bradley Fighting Vehicle struck an improvised explosive device and they were engulfed in flames while under heavy enemy fire.
After escaping the blazing heat, Cash jumped into a vehicle to help his fellow soldiers, first helping the driver. As Cash tried to put out the driver’s fire, the veteran’s fuel-soaked uniform caught fire. Cash suffered severe second- and third-degree burns on about 72 percent of his body, according to the U.S. military.
Despite his painful wounds, Cash returned to the vehicle under heavy enemy fire and bullets and rescued six soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter from the burning vehicle. When reinforcements arrived, Cash refused to evacuate to receive follow-up medical treatment before the soldiers, insisting that they receive medical attention first. Cash died on November 8, 2005 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
“Cachet took great risk in rescuing his fellow soldiers and certainly cannot be placed in the same category as a civilian award,” Ramos told CBS News. “Not only does it tarnish his memory as a hero, it also devalues the Medal of Honor being bestowed upon a man who hopes to once again become Commander in Chief of our nation’s military.”
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