At Purple Heart Ceremony, Trump Says, ‘It Wasn’t That Easy for Me Either’

President Donald Trump hosted a ceremony for Purple Heart recipients at the White House on Thursday and told attendees that “it wasn’t that easy for me either.”

The Purple Heart is awarded to U.S. service members who are killed or wounded. Trump recognized numerous recipients by name.

“Last year, after an assassin tried to take my life in Butler, Pennsylvania. Thomas generously mailed me one of his Purple Hearts,” he said, referring to one of the attendees. “Many of the other veterans showed me the same unbelievable gesture of kindness, including three-time Purple Heart recipient John Ford and Gerald Enter Jr., who also came along with us and did us a great, great favor. Gerald, John, and Thomas, I wanna thank you very much. What a great honor to get those Purple Hearts.”

The president then suggested that, like Purple Heart recipients, he had also had a tough go of it.

“I guess in a certain way, it wasn’t that easy for me either when you think of it,” he said to a muted reaction from the crowd. “But you went through a lot more than I did. And I appreciate it all very much. Thank you.”

As Trump noted, several veterans have gifted their Purple Hearts to Trump. Last year during a town hall in North Carolina, a veteran came on stage and handed Trump an envelope.

“I couldn’t think of anybody more deserving of a Purple Heart,” the veteran said to Trump, who avoided service during the Vietnam War due to what has been described as bone spurs on his feet.

Another veteran gave Trump his Purple Heart in 2016, before the election that year.

“I felt he took it in the manner in which I gave it,” the veteran said at the time.

Watch above via NewsNation.