Trump Says He Considered Awarding Himself the Congressional Medal of Honor

President Donald Trump said he once considered awarding himself the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Only 3,528 of the 40 million Americans who have served have received the honor. (Photo: Congressional Medal of Honor Society Facebook)

The president, 79, appeared in Rome, Ga., on Thursday, Feb. 19, where he recalled his December 2018 surprise visit to US troops at Al Asad Air Force Base in Iraq's Anbar province, Charna Flam reported for People.

“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 the Georgia crowd, according to footage published by ABC News 4.

“I said to my people, ‘Am I allowed to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor?’”

He acknowledged that the honor has been given to “so many guys that are seriously brave.”

Only 3,528 of the 40 million Americans who have served have received the honor. It has historically been awarded posthumously, and a majority of recipients fought in the Civil War.

Currently, there are only 61 living recipients. “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 said.

“It's one of those things — someday I'm going to try. I'm going to test the law. Maybe I'll win in court after everyone sues me, after the radical left lunatic sues me,” he continued.

The Congressional Medal of Honor was established during the Civil War. It is the highest military award in the US. The Presidential Medal of Freedom, by contrast, is the nation’s highest civilian honor.