Trump Calls Himself 'Brave' and Makes Bold Demand For a Top Military Honor

After the Nobel Peace Prize discussion, President Donald Trump joked about deserving another prestigious award, the Congressional Medal of Honor. During a recent address to supporters, Trump said he considered giving himself the highest military award after visiting the U.S. troops in Iraq in 2018.

Speaking in Rome, Georgia, on February 19, Trump said, “I decided to go to Iraq. I was extremely brave. So brave in fact, that I wanted to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor. I said to my people, ‘Am I allowed to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor?’”

Trump then highlighted how the recipients of the honor are brave war veterans, many of whom lose limbs during combat. “And you know, I’ve given out so many to guys that are seriously brave. I mean, they come in, and their arms are missing, their legs are missing. Their stories are so unbelievable. And I said that’s a little stretch if I gave myself one,” the President further said.

The Republican leader joked that he could consider changing the law so he could present the award to himself. He said, “Someday I’m going to try. I’m going to test the law. Maybe I’ll win in court after everyone sues me.”

Trump acknowledged his satire could be taken out of context, saying, “You know, I'm having fun. The fake news will say ‘Donald Trump wants to give himself the Congressional Medal of Honor, but he was rebuffed by the audience who stood up and booed the h--- out of him.’”

Trump visited Al Asad Air Force Base in Iraq's Anbar province in December 2018. At the time, he was accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump.

During the visit, the POTUS told the troops, “I want to thank everyone at Al Asad Air Base. Special people. We came in, we were — we felt very safe coming in. It was a pretty difficult journey in certain ways, but we felt very, very good; very safe.”

In November 2019, Trump visited Afghanistan to meet the U.S. soldiers stationed at Bagram Airfield.

The Medal of Honor is awarded by the president in the name of Congress to members of the Armed Forces who risk their lives ‘above and beyond the call of duty.’ The award was established during the 1860s and has been presented to over 3500 people.

Some notable recipients include Desmond Doss, a WWII medic; Alwyn Cashe, an Iraq war hero; and Matthew Williams, an Afghanistan veteran. The only U.S. President to earn the medal was Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, who was posthumously awarded for his heroic leadership during the Spanish-American War.

And while Trump was not seriously considering awarding himself the Medal of Honor, the same can not be said about the Nobel Peace Prize. The President has repeatedly expressed his desire for the prize after claiming to end eight international wars.

In January, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado presented her own Nobel Peace Prize to Trump, but the award committee maintained that the title can not be transferred.