Trump is so inarticulate, and his speech is so rambling and confused, that it’s often not clear what he’s trying to say. Nevertheless, I don’t think he’s saying that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “better” than the Medal of Honor. If Trump could speak in clear sentences, I think what he wants to say would come out something like:
- Receiving the Medal of Honor is a greater honor than receiving the Medal of Freedom.
- However, receiving the Medal of Honor often comes at great cost to the recipient; they typically earn it at the cost of very severe injury or death.
- Therefore, it might be better to receive the Medal of Freedom, because you get to enjoy a significant honor but without the risk of death or disfigurement.
There’s a philosophical question here: is it better to win a greater honor but pay for it with your life, or a lesser one and still enjoy your health and happiness?
Trump seems to suggest the second option is better. That’s his opinion (and I might even agree with him). But – in this case – I don’t think he’s denigrating the MoH or its recipients.
It is true, however, that he’s said things on other occasions that seemed to disparage or disdain soldiers, including those who have made great sacrifices.
To my mind, the important issue isn’t Trump’s attitude toward veterans, but the fact that we have a presidential candidate who is apparently incapable of expressing simple ideas. If his trademark sloppy, rambling, vapid, stream of consciousness utterances are a reflection of what’s happening inside his head, then that’s not a man who’s capable of running the country.
