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President Donald Trump raised more than a few eyebrows during his first visit as president to Walter Reed National Medical Center on Saturday when he awarded the Purple Heart to Army Sergeant First Class Alvaro Barrientos.
“When I heard about this, I wanted to do it myself,” Trump told Barrientos as he placed the Purple Heart on the soldier’s lapel. “Congratulations … tremendous.”
The medal is given to service members who were wounded or killed in battle.
Many on social media immediately criticized the president’s choice of words to the wounded soldier whose leg had to be amputated after he survived an attack in Afghanistan’s Helmland province.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/855867509966286849
Oh…dear.
Really, believe me, no one seeks a Purple Heart.
Truly. https://t.co/HXbnVy2S2q
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/855848801512435713
Hey military, y’all would Eat. A. Brother. Alive. If they did this. Whatcha gonna say bout Trump? Hope his staff learns him up right quick. https://t.co/V9z9PVcTzQ
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/855894441134927872
Congratulations? Like the Purple Heart is a prize? Trump is an idiot. Most of us always knew this. https://t.co/vf3g4AOA7m
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/855888390553837574
@louwho27 It’s rather like if Trump signed a condolence card to a widow “congratulations”. Not everything we do to mark something is a congratulation.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/855859085606092802
@barbarastarrcnn So inappropriate. You don’t congratulate a soldier for being wounded. You thank them for their service, dedication and sacrifice.
This isn’t the first time the president has been criticized for remarks he made about the Purple Heart. During the campaign, a veteran gave the then-nominee his Purple heart.
“I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier,” Trump said at the time.
Watch Trump award the Purple Heart below:
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