President Donald Trump has handed out plenty of medals over the years — but on Thursday, he joked that the next recipient might be him.
Speaking at a rally in Rome, Georgia, Trump quipped that after a 2018 surprise trip to Iraq, he briefly considered awarding himself the Congressional Medal of Honor, before conceding that might be “a little stretch.”
“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,” Trump told supporters, speaking at a rally on the economy in Rome, Georgia.
“I said to my people, am I allowed to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor? 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,” he continued.
The president and first lady Melania Trump made a surprise visit to US troops at Al Asad Airforce Base on Dec. 26, 2018 during his first term as president. Nearly a year later, he visited US troops in Afghanistan.
Trump joined his predecessors, former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, in visiting both Iraq and Afghanistan during their tenures as the US waged devastating wars in both countries that ended up spanning most of two decades.
The US withdrew its military forces in Afghanistan in 2022 under former President Biden. The US continues to operate military bases in Iraq.
“Someday I’m going to try. I’m going to test the law,” he said. “Maybe I’ll win in court after everyone sues me.”
“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 hell out of him,” he said.
“They say that kind of stuff. It’s amazing,” he added.
Can president give himself Congressional Medal of Honor?
No, a U.S. president cannot legally give himself the
Congressional Medal of Honor. By law, this award is exclusively for military service members who exhibit extreme valor in combat, specifically risking their lives "above and beyond the call of duty". While Donald Trump mentioned in 2026 wanting to "test the law" to award himself the honor, it requires specific military bravery criteria he does not meet.
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