Now Trump Reportedly Wants Nation's Highest Military Honor... For Himself

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Huff Post

Apr 20, 2026, 03:32 AM EDT | Updated 3 hours ago


President Donald Trump has never served in the U.S. armed forces, but reportedly wants to give himself the nation’s highest military honor anyway. The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that Trump has “mused” about awarding himself the Medal of Honor.

The medal is bestowed by the president on service members who, according to the official criteria, “distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity, risking loss of life above and beyond the call of duty” in one of three circumstances. Those are engaging in military action against a U.S. enemy, in military operations with an opposing foreign force, or while serving with friendly foreign forces in an armed conflict.

It’s not apparent how or why Trump thinks he may qualify given that he has never served in the military. During the Vietnam War, Trump received four deferments for college and one for bone spurs in his heels. He later told radio host Howard Stern that avoiding sexually transmitted diseases was “my personal Vietnam.”

Trump, as president, is commander-in-chief of the armed forces ― but that’s a civilian position. That hasn’t stopped him from wishing for the medal.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-wants-medal-of-honor_n_69e5bbd8e4b0b6f552bab9fe?origin=home-latest-news-unit

[BeyondGeography]

1. Neediest nepo baby ever

And Happy Monday to all of you fucking idiots who look at this subhuman dumpster fire and see a President.

[tanyev]

2. He is a black hole of neediness and insecurity wrapped in the skinsuit of a man.

[Javaman]

3. of course he does.

I'm honestly surprised that he hasn't gone all "generalissimo" on us by now, with some gaudy faux military "uniform".

[BumRushDaShow]

7. ...

(his claim to fame)

[OldBaldy1701E]

10. HIs claim to fame is that he is such a shit that his parents sent him to a military school?

That tracks.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. I had a former middle school classmate

who was "removed from" our school and got "sent to" a military academy here in PA. 'Nuff said.

[OldBaldy1701E]

16. I am from one of the most rural parts of the eastern seaboard.

(Not so. much anymore, but still...)

There were two of them nearby.

TWO of them.

I never knew that parenting was a 'conditional' position.

(To be honest, my father would have killed me rather than sent me to some school. He knew he could solve the problems without assistance.)

[BumRushDaShow]

20. With the right amount of $$$$

one can be sent anywhere and those military academies were usually boarding schools.

[mwmisses4289]

33. They were usually more like juvie.

they were where rich families sent their "problem" boys. which may go part way to explaining why so many rich males are so fucked up in the head.

[BumRushDaShow]

39. Exactly

what I meant (otherwise dubbed "disciplinary" schools).

[Ray Bruns]

21. Maybe he was there with the Finklestein shit kid.

Last edited Mon Apr 20, 2026, 09:57 AM - Edit history (1)

https://m.

[BumRushDaShow]

28. Here's the clip

[Prairie Gates]

13. Ah, 1964, right before his terrible bout of college deferments and bone spurs

Last edited Mon Apr 20, 2026, 09:55 AM - Edit history (1)

Once such a promising baseball player he was being recruited by the New York Yankees, then sadly disabled by a crippling injury just as his college deferments ended and he drew a "Hope You Like Hot Weather" number in the draft lottery.

[riversedge]

52. u... 1964---so, that picture is Sixty one years old. Well, we ALL get more older as the years pass.

[Blumancru]

9. They probably can't find a uniform to fit him

The Medal of Honor requires facing enemy fire. Does that incident in Butler count or should he just get a Purple Ear?
Who would place it around his neck? Melanoma? Stormy Daniels?

[Marcuse]

41. Yes, friendly fire at the Battle of Butler counts. He already has a Purple Heart.

[dave99]

73. Secret Service is shit right now due to having no actual US Citizens that care about the nation on it.

just body guards in black suits, mercenaries.

[sop]

4. Trump has "mused" about awarding himself the Medal of Honor.

"Mused"? Fixated, fantasized, hallucinated or obsessed might be more accurate.

[rickford66]

5. Is it turtles all the way down ?

[ChazInAz]

55. Once you get past the elephants.

[rickford66]

70. We were way past the elephants during his first term.

No limit now.

[Squaredeal]

6. Doesn't Congress have to award the Congressional Medal of Honor?

[Chasstev365]

8. You forgot: we have a king.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. It's done by the President on behalf of Congress.

Congress does have it's own that they personally award - the "Congressional Gold Medal".

[Fiendish Thingy]

40. But it is congress, not the president, who authorizes the award. Nt

[BumRushDaShow]

51. No, they might "recommend" but the awardees generally come out of the Executive Branch (military)

See below - https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3653584

[Fiendish Thingy]

59. My understanding is the recommendation must come through the soldier's congress person

After it goes through Congress, then it lands in the executive branch.

The award cannot originate from the president.

[BumRushDaShow]

60. As I noted yes "a recommendation" by

but the Medal is going to an Executive Branch Employee (a military person) and was designed to try to address all the different military Branches and their medals, by coming up with a "supreme" type of medal to honor a particular outstanding service member for their exemplary service or act. And that is why it is presented by the President, as head of the Executive Branch AND as the "Commander in Chief" (military).

Whereas the more known "Congressional Gold Medal" can go to anyone (but is handled all by Congress and bestowed by them).

[Angleae]

77. The recommendation can be made by congress or the military.

Congress created the medal in the first place (back in the mid 1800s) and they can recommend who is awarded it, but that's the limit of Congress' authority over it.

[Prairie Gates]

11. Somebody on this board said this as a joke a few days ago

I wish I could give the credit.

[Hugin]

18. I saw that too.

Trump. The bride at every funeral parade strikes again.

[nuxvomica]

15. It's not just self-aggrandizement

He wants to shit on everything other people revere. It's not so much that he wants the medal as he resents the people that have already gotten it and wants to tarnish it, like the Nobel Peace Prize.

[orangecrush]

27. THIS

[WiVoter]

34. Bingo

[Deuxcents]

58. Nailed it 100%

[Kid Berwyn]

66. And now that he's nearing the end of his miserable life...

...he wants us all to join him in his misery: MAGAgeddon.

[Martin Eden]

17. "The medal is bestowed by the president"

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE bestow this on yourself.

It'll be the last straw for millions of voters, especially in the military.

[Aristus]

25. No. His shit-for-brains cult followers will eat it up. They love everything he does. Because they're in a cult.

No matter what they say, it's what they do at the ballot box that matters. They'll vote -R- for the rest of their miserable, worthless, empty lives.

[Martin Eden]

43. They are a shrinking minority.

Elections are won by motivating souls to the polls, and winning the swing vote.

Rethugs in Congress will be put on the spot as public outrage grows -- even on the right -- over this Medal of disHonor. Some will try to deflect with weasel words, but others will condemn it. A not insignificant number hate Trump, but have fallen in line out of fear.

I doubt the orange festering pustule will actually do it, but he might as his mental pathologies descend deeper into delusion and anxiety over his ultimate fall.

[VMA131Marine]

38. I agree!

I think this would be a bridge too far for a lot of people.

[johnnyfins]

79. I hope he does do it.

He will beclown himself. It will not diminish any of the other recipients or their accomplishments. He will continue to look like the child he is.

[QueerDuck]

19. "Will no one rid us of this troublesome potus?" ...

... is something I've seen many asking online.

[Goonch]

22. ;-{) EPSTEIN MEDAL

[GiqueCee]

23. I like this description of the Orange Anus...

... They scraped the worst sins of America off the floor of a gas station toilet, stuffed it all into a rancid sausage skin, and taught it to make noises with its face.
I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist of it.

[TheRickles]

24. He's the Commander-in-Chief, so why not? /s

Actually, it might be a key step in alienating the military, so they'd be less likely to support any future martial law-type orders.

[Farmer-Rick]

26. Actually the Purple Heart is the highest military honor

But since he supposedly avoided STDs during the Vietnam war, he was never injured in combat.

Maybe if he proves he caught syphilis, he could award himself the purple heart.

[Aviation Pro]

29. Who would hang it around his fucking vagina neck?

Last edited Mon Apr 20, 2026, 05:15 PM - Edit history (1)

The fucking failed infantry officer? The Marine typist couch fucker?

[sinkingfeeling]

30. I'm sure he's hoping that one of his demented followers will offer his own CMH to his 'god'. Didn't someone give him a

Purple Heart in his first term?

[Turbineguy]

31. When King Chuck comes to visit

trump will want a Knighthood.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

36. I doubt it England wants him.

To be knighted, one has to have done extraordinary things for the British people, contributed to British life be it through the Arts(Film, Stage, and Music), through Scientific breakthroughs, Military service, etc. The qualifications for such an honor has to be of the utmost. Trump HAS NOTHING to offer.

As for the Congressional Medal of Honor, many are called, but few are given it.

[Bayard]

42. Nah, will have to be a crown

A big solid gold one.

[Bayard]

32. My ex BIL was in Viet Nam

He received 2 Purple Hearts for 2 helicopter crashes. He ended up with metal plates in his head, and a big dose of craziness.

trump has the craziness down, but that's it. Giving himself a medal would be a total travesty and insult to veterans everywhere.

[BumRushDaShow]

35. IOW, "Stolen Valor".

[llmart]

54. Why not?

He steals everything else.

[Fiendish Thingy]

37. The highest military honor is bestowed by congress, not the president

That’s why it’s called the Congressional Medal Of Honor.

The president gets to place the medal around the recipient’s neck- that’s it.

[BumRushDaShow]

47. Historically what their process has been is that the President presents ON BEHALF OF (i.e., "in the name of") Congress

The Medal of Honor

Charles Wellington Reed received the Medal of Honor in 1895 for gallantry in action on July 2, 1863, during the battle of Gettysburg. Despite sustained firing on his position near the Trostle farm, Reed mounted his horse and led to safety another mount carrying the wounded Captain John Bigelow, thereby saving Bigelow's life. In June 1895, John Bigelow wrote to the adjutant general of the United States, recommending Reed for the Medal of Honor for his actions that day. Eyewitness testimony corroborated Bigelow's account of events, and the secretary of war approved the nomination in August 1895. Why Reed received the Medal of Honor over thirty years after the fact, and why the Charles Wellington Reed Papers contain two different Medals of Honor is explained by the early history of the Medal of Honor itself.

Often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor because it is awarded in the name of Congress, the Medal of Honor was first awarded during the Civil War. Prior to the Civil War, the federal government conferred various badges, medals and certificates for meritorious military service, but only a limited number of military personnel received such honors. Furthermore, the types of awards given often did not provide the serviceman with a way to display the honor in public. During the Civil War, efforts by Senator James Grimes and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles to inspire sailors to valorous service led to the creation of the Medal of Honor in December 1861. Legislation authorizing a similar medal for soldiers in the army followed in 1862. The United States federal government issued more than 1,500 Medals of Honor for meritorious service in the United States Army and Navy during the Civil War, the majority of those recipients having served in the army.

(snip)

This distinguishes it from the Congressional GOLD Medal that is all "Congress" - "Congressional Gold Medal".

Since the military is in the "Executive Branch" and these generally go to "military", that is why the President is involved.

[Martin Eden]

48. Thanks for clarifying that, FT.

I should have remembered the "Congressional" part.

But when have rules or laws stopped the naked king from doing what he wants?

[BumRushDaShow]

49. That is incorrect.

See the reply above,.

[bmichaelh]

44. Longest Day

I recently saw the film The Longest Day, about the D-Day invasion.

In that film, Henry Fonda played Theodore Roosevelt Jr, son of former President Teddy Roosevelt.

Despite having a heart condition, arthritis and use of cane. he was part of the first wave on Utah Beach.

His immediate superior rejected his wish to go and he wrote an appeal:

The force and skill with which the first elements hit the beach and proceed may determine the ultimate success of the operation.... With troops engaged for the first time, the behavior pattern of all is apt to be set by those first engagements. [It is] considered that accurate information of the existing situation should be available for each succeeding element as it lands. You should have when you get to shore an overall picture in which you can place confidence. I believe I can contribute materially on all of the above by going in with the assault companies. Furthermore I personally know both officers and men of these advance units and believe that it will steady them to know that I am with them.

He did not use excuses to get out of fighting. No bone spurs for him.

BTW, he passed away about a month later of a heart attack in France.

[evolves]

45. JFC on a baby grand piano

When is this utter bullshit going to end?!?!

[Wednesdays]

63. January 20, 2029.

I can't guarantee an earlier date.

I can't guarantee a LATER date!

[evolves]

67. How are we gonna survive until then??

Much less stay sane?

[GB_RN]

46. The President Bestows The Award...

Yes. But the President does so “in the name of Congress,”* which votes on giving the award.

*Which is probably where the misnomer, Congressional Medal of Honor came from. The official title is simply “Medal of Honor.”

[ToxMarz]

50. The Medal of Honor can be, and has been, revoked

His most certainly would be, ceremoniously and with great fanfare.

[MIButterfly]

53. Oh good grief

Someone please reign him in. Will his neediness and greediness never stop?

Of course it won't. He's all about me, me, me, I, I, I, my, my, my. He won't stop until he's ruined EVERYTHING.

And for those who say Congress has to award the medal, who in Congress with an R is going to tell him no? They haven't refused him anything yet; they all fall to their knees and give him everything he wants. I'm surprised there hasn't been a bill introduced (or however they do it; excuse my ignorance) to give him a Medal of Honor already.

We're all living in Hell on Earth.

I'm going back to bed.

[mwooldri]

56. As crazy as King Charles awarding himself the Victoria Cross.

Donnie Dotard... it doesn't work like that!

[BlueWavePsych]

57. WUT

[purr-rat beauty]

61. Honored to rape and kill children?

Fuck this POS

[jgmiller]

62. I really think they should give it to him, hear me out

In order to break the cult and especially the ones in the military and veterans we need him to do so much crazy stuff that it's obvious to all but the most diehard what he really is. While him giving this to himself is beyond disgusting in the long it's much better. Make him show what a total two bit dictator he is every single day, make it so bad there is no other choice but to turn away from him.

[Talitha]

64. Let him have one with the bulls-eye on it.

[JoseBalow]

65. Such a pathetic little homunculus

[Martin68]

68. This was inevitable given Trump's trajectory. He'll probably also award himself a Noble Peace Prize (to escape

copyright and trademark protections). MAGAt DEI in action.

[electric_blue68]

69. "risking loss of life above and beyond the call of duty"....

🤔 Well, while trying to hit the golf ball he fell over, and rolled down into a water trap? That might qualify.


As for gallentry? Pffffttttttttt.....

[AverageOldGuy]

71. As others have pointed out . . .

. . . Trump wants to be:

-- the bride at every wedding
-- the corpse at every funeral (I can get behind this one)

[Escape]

72. It is time that the Democrats start talking about invalidating...

everything Trump has designed, decreed and desecrated.

It is time to begin the discussion that all of his bluster and hubris will be overturned. It's time to announce that his name will be stripped from anything of value and that his buildings and monuments will be destroyed with great worldwide celebration.

He can give himself all the historically coveted awards he can pack into his oval golden shithouse office or he can give them to his obsequious sycophants, but all of that fakery will eventually be revealed and overturned.

And, it's time Democrats start talking about finding the mechanism for overturning all of Trump's illegal PARDONS.

[BumRushDaShow]

74. Biden had to do that after 45's first term

He signed 17 Executive Actions on Day one -



and eventually did 60 during his first 100 days - Here are the executive actions Biden signed in his first 100 days

Am hoping that his old team (wherever they are) is compiling the HUGE list that needs to be done if it takes all day and all night, when the time comes!

[spike jones]

75. Would not be the first time it was given to war criminals. Wounded Knee.

https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Medal_of_Honor_recipients_for_the_Wounded_Knee_Massacre

[Aussie105]

76. Give him what he wants.

The full Generalissimo uniform, the Nobel peace prize, the highest awards available in every possible avenue, the keys to Fort Knox, hell, make some up!
Whatever it takes to satisfy that primal urge he has to prove to himself he is a worthwhile human being.

Once he has all that, maybe he will relax and sleep soundly for once.

And not wake up.

[regnaD kciN]

78. Isn't the Congressional Medal of Honor usually awarded posthumously...?

If so, I’m O.K. with it.

[mercuryblues]

80. I'm surprised he hasn't

awarded himself a Purple Heart.

[jmowreader]

81. If he does that he'll lose the support of anyone even slightly related to the military

This is how esteemed the Medal of Honor is: If Medal of Honor Recipient Private Joe Snuffy is walking down the street and General Christopher LaNeve, the Chief of Staff of the Army, is coming the other way, General LaNeve will salute Private Snuffy.