Amid the ongoing U.S. war against Iran, President Donald Trump considered awarding himself the Medal of Honor, the most prestigious military award issued by the U.S. government, White House insiders claimed in a report published Saturday evening in the Wall Street Journal.
Citing a “senior administration official” and people who have “spoken” with the president, the Journal’s report revealed that Trump had privately panicked in early April after learning of the downed U.S. fighter jet over Iran.
“Trump screamed at aides for hours. The Europeans aren’t helping, he said repeatedly. Gas prices averaged $4.09,” the Journal’s report reads. “Images of the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis – one of the biggest international policy failures of a presidency in recent times – had been looming large in his mind, people who have spoken to him said.”
According to a senior administration official, Trump had demanded that the pilots of the downed fighter jet be rescued immediately, though discussions grew adversarial due to the president’s “impatience.”
“Aides kept the president out of the room as they got minute-by-minute updates because they believed his impatience wouldn’t be helpful, instead updating him at meaningful moments, a senior administration official said,” the Journal’s report reads.
Amid the chaos, which according to the insiders also involved Trump “sometimes” losing focus and attempting to pivot to topics unrelated to the U.S. war against Iran such as his White House ballroom, the president also actively considered awarding himself the highest military decoration in the United States’ history.
“He has made risky pronouncements without input from his national security team – including his post about plans to destroy the Iranian civilization – saying seeming unstable could help spur the Iranians to negotiate,” the Journal’s report reads.
“At one point he even mused he should award himself the nation’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor.”