Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley on Sunday defended former President Trump against backlash over his recent comments downplaying the Medal of Honor.
“Well, no one supports our military, our veteran community and all of our military families more than President Trump,” Whatley said when asked about Trump’s comments by NewsNation’s Chris Styrewalt on “The Hill Sunday.”
“And he is extremely grateful every day for their service,” Whatley added.
Whatley disagreed with Styrewalt’s assessment that Trump’s comments were a “very serious mistake” given that the Trump campaign has accused Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, of “defamation.”
The Trump campaign has criticized Waltz for resigning from the Army National Guard after 24 years there, just months before his unit was due to deploy overseas. The Republican candidate also slammed Waltz for a resurfaced video in which he suggested he used combat weapons “in a war” while serving in the military. Harris’ campaign has since claimed Waltz “blundered” in the video.
“I think the questions that we’re looking at regarding stolen honor are serious, and we’re going to continue to have those conversations until Governor Walz comes out publicly and actually apologizes for the statements that he made and the misrepresentations that he made,” Whatley said.
The interview comes as the former president is once again facing intense criticism over comments he made about veterans, comparing civilian medals to the Medal of Honor.
President Trump spoke Thursday at an event focused on fighting anti-Semitism on the grounds of his Bedminster, New Jersey home, which was also attended by Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson. During his speech, Trump spoke about awarding Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2018.
“This is the highest award a civilian can receive — the civilian equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor,” Trump told the crowd.
“That’s actually a lot better, because every soldier who gets the Congressional Medal of Honor is either shot multiple times and in terrible shape or dead. And she gets it, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman,” Trump said, laughing and drawing applause from the crowd. “They’re all equally valued.”
The video of Trump’s comments sparked immediate reactions on social media, with Democrats and Vice President Harris quickly seizing on the remarks to attack the former president’s views on veterans and injured Americans.
“Just as Trump has previously attacked Gold Star families, mocked prisoners of war and called those who have died serving our country ‘idiots’ and ‘losers,’ his insults to Medal of Honor recipients should remind all Americans that we owe it to our service members, our country and our future to ensure that Donald Trump never again serves as Commander in Chief,” Harris campaign spokeswoman Sarafina Chitica said in a statement.
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Brett Samuels assisted.
