Former President Donald Trump received an immediate backlash Thursday when he said the Presidential Medal of Freedom he awarded to Dr. Miriam Adelson, the widow of Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, was “equivalent” and “better than” the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for bravery in combat. 

Speaking from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, during an event on fighting antisemitism, Trump praised the late Las Vegas casino magnate as “one of the greatest businessmen in the world,” before addressing Sheldon Adelson’s widow to make a comparison between the Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, which is typically given for significant achievements in the arts, public service and other fields. 

“I watched Sheldon sitting so proud in the White House when we gave Miriam the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That’s the highest award you can get as a civilian. It’s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version,” said Trump as he spoke from the podium in front of multiple American and Israeli flags. 

He added, “It’s actually much better because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they are dead. She gets it and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman. And they’re rated equal, but she got the Presidential Medal of Freedom.” 

Miriam Adelson is a physician who specializes in drug addiction and is known for her humanitarian work and donations to Jewish organizations. In 2018, Trump awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a White House ceremony. The Trump administration at the time noted her two research centers aimed at stemming substance abuse and the work of the Adelson Medical Research Foundation, established to combat life-threatening illnesses. 

GOP Sen. JD Vance of Ohio was asked about his running mate’s remarks on Friday. 

“This is a guy who loves our veterans and who honors our veterans,” Vance replied. “I don’t think him complimenting and saying a nice word about a person who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom is in any way denigrating those who received military honors.” 

But many veterans with prominent platforms on social media denounced Thursday’s remarks from the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, lambasting the comments about the medal as “offensive” and “disrespectful.” Trump’s statement about the Medal of Honor and his characterization of service members who receive the award became a top trending topic of discussion on X, the social media platform. 

Trump’s comments on Thursday evening recalled past criticism of the former president over his disparaging comments about the late Republican Sen. John McCain in 2015 when he said McCain was “only a war hero because he was captured” during the Vietnam War, adding, “I like people that weren’t captured, OK?” There was also backlash when he allegedly called Americans who died at war “losers” and “suckers” following a canceled trip to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018. Trump denies he made the belittling comments about fallen U.S. service members. 

Many critics online noted the millions of dollars the Adelsons had donated to Trump and other GOP candidates and causes, and contrasted that with the extraordinary bravery of Medal of Honor recipients who receive the award for great courage in the face of extreme danger. Often, these service members, some of whom die in the process, completely disregard their own lives to save others or eliminate heavy bombardments and enemy gunfire. 

The Adelsons donated $20 million to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and $5 million for his inauguration. Another half a million was given to a legal fund for Trump aides in 2018, according to Politico. That same year, the couple ponied up more than $100 million to conservative groups and GOP candidates during the election cycle. In 2020, the couple gave $75 million to the Preserve America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC. The Adelson’s total contributions to Republicans totaled more than $218 million between 2019 and 2020, according to Open Secrets, which tracks money in politics. 

Contacted by CBS News on Friday, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said it’s longstanding Defense Department policy to not comment on remarks from political campaigns, given the department’s apolitical nature. 

“Separately, the Department of Defense is eternally grateful for the service, sacrifice, and bravery of all those awarded the Medal of Honor, which is by law the nation’s highest military award for valor presented only to U.S. service members who have distinguished themselves through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty,” said Ryder. 

Matt Zeller, a former Army captain and CIA officer who served in Afghanistan and has since worked for years to resettle Afghan allies who served with U.S. and coalition partners during America’s longest war, denounced the former president’s comments. 

“People need to see that this is who Trump is and how he sees those of us who have served in the military. He’s been disparaging us for years,” Zeller told CBS News. “I can only hope this latest affront against military service is the one that finally makes the rest of my fellow veterans see the light — the man is a con.” 

The Medal of Honor was first presented in 1863, according to a U.S. Senate committee print on the medal. It is the nation’s highest military award for combat valor and is awarded by the president in the name of Congress — this is why the prestigious honor is often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor. 

Out of the 41 million who have served in the U.S. military, only 3,517 service members have received the Medal of Honor — 19 of whom were awarded the medal twice — according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. 

Conversely, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, created by President Harry S. Truman in 1945, is often given to recipients who reflect a president’s “political and personal interests,” according to the Congressional Research Service. As of July, between 1963 and 2024, the medal has been awarded 653 times. Past recipients include great figures in the world of art and entertainment, the Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team, and two double recipients: the late U.S. Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker and Colin Powell, the former secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who died in 2021.

The day Miriam Adelson received her medal, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, former NFL football player turned Minnesota Supreme Court judge Alan Page, and Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, also received the honor. The award was also given posthumously to Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth and conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. 

Medal of Honor recipient and retired Army Capt. Florent Groberg said on X that he has a “tremendous amount of respect for the Medal of Freedom and what it symbolizes” and that “it’s important to recognize the contributions of civilians” but added, “I feel that it’s not quite comparable to the Medal of Honor, as they are two very different awards with different criteria and significance.” 

Retired Army Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Ramos echoed Groberg’s assessment and drew a contrast between the Presidential Medals of Freedom Trump gave to Adelson and others and the Medal of Honor the former president authorized posthumously to Army Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe before leaving the White House. His widow, Tamara, accepted the medal on his behalf from President Biden in 2021. 

During a nighttime mounted patrol on Oct. 17, 2005 in Iraq’s Salah Ad Din Province, Cashe and his soldiers found themselves in a dire situation when his unit was ambushed. Their Bradley Fighting Vehicle struck an improvised explosive device, engulfing them in flames while a barrage of gunfire ensued from enemy forces. 

After escaping the inferno, Cashe dove back into the vehicle to rescue his fellow soldiers, first pulling out his driver. As Cashe was extinguishing the flames on the driver, the veteran soldier’s uniform, which was drenched in fuel, ignited. Cashe received severe second and third degree burns over nearly 72% of his body, per the U.S. Army. 

Despite the painful wounds, Cashe again re-entered the vehicle under the threat of fire and enemy bullets, to retrieve six additional soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter from the burning vehicle. When reinforcements arrived, Cashe insisted his soldiers receive medical attention first and refused to be evacuated to follow-on medical care before them. Cashe died on Nov. 8, 2005 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. 

“Cashe knew the danger in his attempts to rescue his fellow soldiers and absolutely cannot be placed in the same category of a civilian award,” Ramos told CBS News. “It dishonors his memory as a hero, but also devalues the Medal of Honor coming from someone hoping to be the commander-in-chief of our armed forces again.” 

James LaPorta

James LaPorta is a verification producer with CBS News Confirmed. He is a former U.S. Marine infantryman and veteran of the Afghanistan war.