Trump Tells Medal Of Honor Recipients At Rally: I’m ‘Financially Brave’ (VIDEO)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a campaign rally Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016, in Selma, N.C. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Donald Trump told a group of Medal of Honor recipients sitting on stage behind him at a Thursday night rally that he was “brave in other ways” than they had been.

Acknowledging the war heroes sitting on stage behind him in Selma, North Carolina, Trump said “They’re so much more brave than me, I wouldn’t have done what they did.”

“I’m brave in other ways,” he continued. “I’m brave — I’m financially brave. Big deal, right? These are real brave.”

It’s not the first time Trump, who received several draft deferments in the ’60s as a college student and for bone spurs in his feet, has compared his own experiences to those of members of the military.

Appearing on the Howard Stern show in 1997, Trump said avoiding sexually transmitted diseases in the ‘80s was his “personal Vietnam.”

“I feel like a very brave soldier,” he continued.

And when a veteran gave Trump his Purple Heart medal before a rally in August, Trump showed it to the crowd and said “I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier.”

Watch below:

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. That’s so utterly and appallingly offensive.

    And most of the (mostly) older veterans backing Trump don’t mind, mostly 'cause he’s got a penis.

  2. What mind numbing stupidity would allow these men, or anyone in the military or their friends and family, to support Trump and his bravery?

  3. There is a yuge difference between being brave and being reckless. Medal of Honor recipients are bestowed this honor because they have committed acts of bravery and saved lives in the process. HO has committed acts of self-serving recklessness to benefit himself while destroying the lives, and wallets, of others.

    OMG, I can’t wait for this all to be over!

  4. The only thing he knows about being brave is getting up in the morning and going out with that dead blonde rat atop his melon.

  5. Ah, the allure of authoritarianism.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

94 more replies

Participants

Avatar for daveminnj Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for charliee Avatar for old_curmudgeon Avatar for pickwick Avatar for headhunter212 Avatar for populistesq Avatar for skippykaos Avatar for sandyh Avatar for inversion Avatar for mantan Avatar for magical_panda Avatar for 538liberal Avatar for twowolves Avatar for mrf Avatar for khaaannn Avatar for darrtown Avatar for emilianoelmexicano Avatar for tena Avatar for jinnj Avatar for meta Avatar for spencersmom Avatar for centralasiaexpat Avatar for maximus

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: