Before the ceremony even started, Donald Trump told the room he had wanted to give himself the Medal of Honor. “But only a few have received our highest military distinction, the Congressional Medal of Honor. I wanted to give it to myself,” he said. “But I was informed I couldn’t do it. And I couldn’t find anything where I was actually worthy. So here we are.”
The room obliged him with laughter, though the ceremony that followed did not quite sustain it.
The White House ceremony on Thursday honored three veterans: Marine Corps Maj. James Capers Jr., 88, Army Maj. Nicholas Dockery and, posthumously, Marine Corps Col. John W. Ripley.
Dockery received his medal for extraordinary heroism in Afghanistan, repeatedly crossing open ground under intense enemy fire to rescue an unconscious fellow soldier. Trump had a different battle on his hands: the clasp.
Capers came first, making his way to the stage with assistance. Trump tied the medal around his neck, whispering “It’s beautiful, it’s beautiful,” before stepping back. “Let me see what it looks like… we gotta make this perfect,” he said. That part went fine.
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Dockery’s turn was a different story entirely.
Trump patted him on the back, draped the medal around his neck and then spent nearly a minute fiddling with the clasp without success. He then tied the medal tightly in a crude knot, eliciting jeers from those in attendance. “I’m gonna do it a little differently, I’m gonna do it even nicer,” he said, before stepping back to announce: “Now that’s not coming off now.” He turned to pose with Dockery for photos.
“Wait, let me tie a knot.” Donald Trump appeared to struggle with fastening the Medal of Honor. pic.twitter.com/519MMrHpMx
— распад и неуважение (@VictorKvert2008) June 19, 2026
The footage found its audience quickly, and the audience had thoughts.
Imagine if Biden…never mind…. https://t.co/ffOeLwsNpM
— Tara Setmayer 🌻 🇺🇸 (@TaraSetmayer) June 18, 2026
What a national embarrassment
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) June 18, 2026
This is the guy that can’t close an umbrella either.
— Maureen Gorman (@tellmemo2) June 18, 2026
This really is pathetic.
— The Resistor Sister®️♥️🇺🇸 (@the_resistor) June 18, 2026
Old man who can’t close an umbrella, or open a little wooden box.
— Quaneeri223344 (@quaneeri223344) June 18, 2026
how sad Trump looks very ill and must be on a lot of meds
— Kirima Inuah (@Kirimainuah) June 18, 2026
The umbrella reference is not random.
A 2019 clip of Trump struggling to close an umbrella while boarding Air Force One has remained one of the most shared videos of his presidency across both terms, resurfaces every time a moment like Thursday’s lands online and has been paired with the Medal of Honor clip in numerous posts since.
Dockery’s actual story, which largely disappeared under the clasp coverage, is considerable. He served as a platoon leader in Kunar and Kapisa Provinces, among the most dangerous areas of the Afghanistan conflict. During a patrol, his platoon was ambushed by enemy forces using machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
Under intense fire, Dockery repeatedly crossed open ground to rally his soldiers, fought his way to those trapped and engaged enemy forces to rescue an unconscious soldier while providing lifesaving care.
Featured image via X screengrab A clasp too far
