Former White House chief of staff John Kelly blasted former President Donald Trump’s comparison of the Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying the awards aren’t remotely comparable.
Kelly, a persistent Trump critic since resigning from the Trump administration in January 2019, voiced another objection on CNN after Trump compared the two highest military and civilian medals.
Kelly said the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “given for some good works done or in fewer cases for other considerations, but they’re not even close.”
“Think of Normandy, Iwo Jima, Vietnam, or Fallujah,” he continued. “The Medal of Honor is earned, not won, by incredibly brave actions on the battlefield under fire typically by very young men who joined when others did not to defend their country.”
“To the service member, the oath is sacred and taken with the understanding that one could be seriously wounded, captured, or killed in living up to the words,” Kelly added. “No president, member of Congress, judge, or political appointee, and certainly no recipient of the Presidential Medal, will ever be asked to give life or limb to protect the Constitution. The two awards cannot be compared in any way — not even close.”
His remarks were triggered by recent comments from Trump, who spoke of awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to major GOP donor Miriam Adelson. After pointing out that the two medals are the highest civilian and military honors, he argued the Presidential Medal of Freedom is better because it comes without the risk of being killed or wounded.
“Miriam, I watched [Sheldon Adelson] sitting so proud in the White House when we gave Miriam the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump said, speaking of Miriam Adelson’s husband. “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.”
“She gets it and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman, and they’re rated equal,” he added.
Kelly has been a thorn in Trump’s side since leaving his position, offering support for some of the most strident criticisms the former president has faced — including saying Trump referred to soldiers who died in combat as “suckers” and “losers.”
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Kelly’s allegation was contradicted by 14 other people present, including Kelly’s deputy, Zach Fuentes, and former national security adviser John Bolton, a major critic of Trump.
“I didn’t hear either of those comments or anything even resembling them,” Bolton said. “I was there at the point in time that morning when it was decided that he would not go to Aisne-Marne cemetery. He decided not to do it because of John Kelly’s recommendation. It was entirely a weather-related decision and I thought the proper thing to do.”