Trump Pats Himself on the Back for Middle East Visit: ‘I Was Extremely Brave’
President Donald Trump deemed himself “extremely brave” while recalling his 2018 visit to Iraq on Thursday.
Trump was visiting a steel plant in Rome, Georgia, where he addressed workers and boasted of his tenure in office. At one point he declared, “I won affordability” despite rising prices on consumer goods, thanks in part to tariffs he unilaterally imposed on products from dozens of countries.
The president again ripped the Biden administration’s handling of the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal before pivoting to his first administration, when the military’s top brass allegedly told him it would take four years to defeat ISIS.
“So, I decided to go to Iraq, and I flew to Iraq,” Trump said. “And I was extremely brave. In fact, so brave, I wanted to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor. I said to my people, ‘Am I allowed to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor?'”
The Medal of Honor, which is presented on behalf of Congress, is typically awarded by the president to service members who have displayed acts of valor.
“And you know, I’ve given it out to so many guys that are seriously brave,” Trump continued. “They come in with arms missing, the legs are missing, the stories are so unbelievable. And I said, ‘No, it’s a little stretch if I gave myself one.'”
The president then predicted that the “fake news” would seize on his remarks about the Medal of Honor, even though he said he was joking.
“So, you can’t joke,” he complained.
Just hours before Trump’s speech in Georgia, the Department of Justice unfurled a large banner with the president’s face on it. A similar banner was unfurled at the Department of Labor in October. In December, Trump added his name to the Kennedy Center, which he now calls the “Trump Kennedy Center.” He also renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace for himself, as well as a new class of battleships. In January, Trump accepted the Nobel Peace Prize medallion that was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, even though the prize itself is not officially transferable.
Watch above via Fox News.
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