Trump’s Inaccuracy Or An Elephant Out of a Fly?

Donald Trump equated the civilian Medal of Freedom with the military Medal of Honor, and became a target for criticism.

Both awards — the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom — are the highest awards in the United States. The first is for the military, the second — for civilians. The Medal of Honor is awarded to military personnel for unparalleled heroism and bravery. Sometimes this award is presented posthumously.

As for the Medal of Freedom, the criteria for awarding it are more vague. It is awarded both for courage shown by a civilian and for outstanding services in charity, art and even sports.

In 2018, Trump awarded the Medal of Freedom to Miriam Adelson, the daughter of Sheldon Adelson, a well-known businessman and political donor who was a key figure in the Israeli conservative lobby in the United States. Miriam received the award in 2018 for establishing, financing and managing funds that helped people with addictions.It was obvious to everyone then that the medal was awarded for the support that the Adelson family provided to Trump in 2015-16.

In 2021, Sheldon Adelson died, and his daughter Miriam inherited his empire. She not only continued his business, but also the program of political sponsorship and Israeli lobbying. By the way, for special services in protecting the state of Israel in 2013, she was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Jerusalem.

In August 2024, Trump spoke to political sponsors and expressed special gratitude to Miriam Adelson. He recalled that he awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom and literally said the following: “The Medal of Freedom… It’s almost like the Medal of Honor, only the civilian version, which is actually much better, because everyone who gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in really bad shape because they’ve been shot a lot, or they’re dead. And she got the medal, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman, and [the medals] are valued equally.” Not the most careful statement, to say the least.

But almost certainly no one would have noticed this phrase if it weren’t for the election campaign, where the gloves are off and there are no rules. Trump’s statement was called offensive to veterans. Democrats quickly hired several small veterans groups to publicly condemn Trump. Trump, in his usual style, did not apologize or justify himself. He said that he “didn’t say anything like that.” Like, what’s wrong? In fact, he said everything correctly and stop picking on him.

In response, another barrage of criticism followed. In fact, this is the only topic that has been discussed for the last two days. Most likely, this is a distraction operation. Kamala Harris’s unsuccessful speech on the economy, the protests in Chicago outside the Democratic Party’s election conference (and this is only for now — outside the walls), Obama’s continued silence — all this creates a negative background for Harris and the Democratic Party. That’s why we need to distract… Which, of course, does not cancel the fact that Trump’s main enemy is his own language.

And the almost unnoticed (intentionally?) fact that the Medal of Freedom in 2018 was received by an Israeli lobbyist and political sponsor of Trump, mainly for lobbying and political sponsorship. However, the Democrats themselves have more than enough such skeletons in their closet with transparent walls.