John Kelly lashes out over Trump saying a civilian award is better than the Medal of Honor: 'No equivalency of any kind'

Former White House chief of staff John Kelly, seen here in the Oval Office in 2018, has repeatedly criticized former President Donald Trump.

Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

• John Kelly criticized Donald Trump for comparing the Medal of Honor to the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• Trump’s comments aimed to praise Miriam Adelson but sparked backlash from veterans and politicians.
• Trump clarified his remarks, stating the Medal of Freedom is less painful to receive than the Medal of Honor.

Former White House chief of staff John Kelly on Monday blasted Donald Trump’s assertion that the nation’s highest civilian award is better than the Medal of Honor.

“No president, member of Congress, judge or political appointee — and certainly no recipient of the Presidential Medal — will ever be asked to give life or limb to protect the Constitution. The two awards cannot be compared in any way. Not even close,” Kelly told CNN.

Last week, Trump reignited a long-simmering focus over his criticism of some veterans by trying to inflate the status of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was praising GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson, who Trump awarded the presidential honor to in 2018. Trump was likely lavishing praise on Adelson to help make up for a reported private blast that raised concerns about her commitment to a pro-Trump super PAC.

“It’s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version — it’s actually much better because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers, they are even in very bad shape because they have been hit so many times by bullets or they are dead,” Trump said at a pro-Israel event where Adelson was in attendance.

Top veterans groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, hammered Trump over his comments. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign also added to the pile on. Over the weekend, Trump sought to clarify his remarks as his critics continued to stoke the controversy.

“I didn’t hear that,” Trump told local WBRE-TV reporter Andy Mehalshick before a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, when asked about the controversy around his remarks.

Trump said when he said the Presidential Medal of Freedom was “better,” he meant it in how the award is received. He added that to win the Medal of Freedom, recipients of the award first established by President John F. Kennedy don’t “generally have to suffer.”

“I only heard — when I say better, I would rather in a certain way get it because people that get the Congressional Medal of Honor — which I’ve given to many — are often horribly worried or dead,” Trump said. “They’re often dead. They get it posthumously. And when you get the Congressional Medal of Honor — I always consider that to be the ultimate — but it is a painful thing to get it. When you get the Presidential Medal of Freedom, it’s usually for other things like you’ve achieved great success in sports or you achieved great success someplace else. When you get the Medal of Honor — generally speaking, and I’ve met many of them, and I’ve seen the families of many of them — this is an incredible honor — but it was a statement that it is much more painful to get because they are often times in very bad shape. I’ve seen them come up and they’ve suffered greatly.”

A spokesperson for the Trump campaign referred Business Insider to the former president’s clarifying comments when asked to respond to Kelly’s statement.

Some of Trump’s claims about the Medal of Honor are still wrong.

Trump, as others have previously, mistakenly called the Medal of Honor “the Congressional Medal of Honor,” but that is not the nation’s highest military award’s actual name. Congress did create the medal, but as the Congressional Medal of Honor Society points out, it is “purely a military award.” Congressional approval is needed to waive the award’s time limits if a potential recipient is outside of the allotted time window for consideration.

Trump’s point about the medal being awarded posthumously is more nuanced. In terms of total medals, 18.5% have been awarded posthumously. But that changes when only recent wars and conflicts are considered. According to the society, of the eight medals related to the Iraq War, only two were awarded to living recipients. Trump awarded both medals.

Veterans have criticized the Pentagon in recent years for being too selective over who receives the highest honor. Often, the acts that commanding officers deem worthy of the Medal of Honor are downgraded to less prestigious awards after the review and fact-finding process. According to the medal’s current criteria, it is reserved for a service member “who distinguishes himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.” Only one woman in history, Dr. Mary E. Walker, has received the Medal of Honor.

John Kelly has become a top Trump critic since leaving the White House.

A former member of Trump’s Cabinet, Kelly has been vocally critical of the former president since he left Trump’s White House in 2018. A decorated US Marine Corps veteran, Kelly was indicative of the top generals Trump turned to early on in his presidency before later souring on their leadership. In previous statements, Kelly has made it abundantly clear he does not support Trump’s 2024 bid. In October 2023, Kelly told CNN that the former president has “contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.”

“There is nothing more that can be said,” Kelly said in a statement to CNN. “God help us.”

The 2024 election features two veterans, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on each party’s ticket, something that has not happened for years. Vance has criticized Walz over how he left the Army National Guard.