Former US President Donald Trump on Thursday received a Purple Heart medal from a war veteran, despite being known for avoiding military duty himself due to a medical exemption for bone spurs.
In a video shared on X by Trump, the veteran identified John Ford tells Trump that he is giving him the Purple Heart that he earned after being injured as thanks for the “great job you’ve done for our country” and for the “injuries” that Trump has received.
The latter was probably a reference to the July 13 assassination attempt against the former president, in which a bullet grazed his ear in Butler, Pennsylvania.
In the video of Trump’s brief meeting with Ford on Wednesday, the former president asks the veteran, as he hands him the medal: “Is that yours?”
“Yes sir, it has my name on it,” the man responds.
“That’s fantastic,” Trump says, before passing the medal to an aide.
The Purple Heart, the military’s oldest award, is given to those wounded or posthumously to those killed. Ford presented the award to Trump backstage at his rally in Duluth
Earlier this month, a Vietnam War veteran also joined Trump onstage during a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and presented him with his award.
The veteran — identified only as Dwight by the campaign — said he “couldn’t think of anybody more deserving to have a Purple Heart” following the assassination attempt against the former president.
In a separate video, shared by Trump adviser Dan Scavino on X, Trump shows off the medal, saying: “That’s the original! I can see that.”
Trump also received a Purple Heart from a veteran during the 2016 campaign, raising questions and concerns among military medal experts. While these experts agreed that receiving a Purple Heart from a wounded veteran is both acceptable and legal, critics questioned whether Trump should have accepted the medal, given that the former president did not serve in the military.
