Since 1861, the Medal of Honor has gone to those who showed extraordinary courage under fire, often at the cost of their own lives. It has never been self-awarded by a president.
Donald Trump, who avoided Vietnam with five deferments, the last for bone spurs, his former lawyer said were invented, is now reportedly reconsidering that tradition.
That shift sets the stage.
The Wall Street Journal’s sweeping report on the internal dynamics of the Iran war included a detail that quickly overshadowed much of the rest: that during a White House reception ahead of the nation’s semiquincentennial, Trump mused that he deserved the medal because his plane flew into Iraq on an unlit runway during a first-term visit to troops stationed there.
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The act of bravery being cited is a flight into a country where American forces had been operating for years, surrounded by the full apparatus of Secret Service protection.
If this feels familiar, it should, because Trump has floated the idea before and not quietly either.
In February, Trump told a Georgia crowd: “I flew to Iraq and was extremely brave. In fact, so brave I wanted to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor. I said to my people: am I allowed to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor?”
He noted it would be “a stretch,” did not rule it out and added: “I’m going to test the law, I’m going to say… let’s give it a shot. Maybe I’ll win in court after everyone sues me.” The audience laughed. It was not entirely clear Trump was joking.
The contrast the Journal draws is considerable.
While Trump publicly muses about his own bravery, the same report describes a president who refused to order a mission to seize Kharg Island despite being told it would succeed, citing fears about American casualties. “They’ll be sitting ducks,” he said.
The man considering a valor award for landing a plane in Iraq declined an operation his own advisers said could work because he was worried about the cost in lives, which is either prudent or ironic depending on how you read the Medal of Honor citation.
Throughout the war, Trump has been focused on tactical metrics like how many Iranian targets were destroyed and has reportedly enjoyed watching footage of explosions. He has also marveled privately at how easily “a guy with a drone” can close the Strait of Hormuz, which is a curious thing to marvel at when that closure is what drove gas above $4 a gallon and pushed his approval rating to historic lows.
Rep. Jason Crow, who served as a 24-year-old platoon leader with the 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq, responded on X. “Donald Trump just said he wants to award himself the Congressional Medal of Honor – our nation’s most sacred military decoration. Unlike our President, I fought in Iraq,” he wrote.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
