Trump says battle-hardened general praised Clinton debate: 'Bravest thing I’ve ever seen'

Donald Trump told a story about a general's supposed reaction to him debating Hillary Clinton after the "Access Hollywood" recording emerged.

The ex-president took the stage with his 2016 Democratic opponent shortly after an audio clip surfaced where he can be heard casually boasting about grabbing women, which prompted some Republicans to withdraw their endorsements.

Trump recently told a Young Republican gathering that a general praised his bravery for appearing at the debate.

“I went onto that stage just a few days later, and a general, who’s a fantastic general, actually, said to me, ‘Sir, I’ve been on the battlefield, men have gone down on my left and on my right,'" Trump claimed.

"'I stood on hills with soldiers who were killed. But I believe the bravest thing I’ve ever seen was the night you went onto that stage with Hillary Clinton after what happened.'"

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“Then that woman asked you the first question about it, and I said, ‘Locker room talk! It’s locker room talk! What the hell?’” Trump added.

Trump did not identify the general who supposedly praised him, and one of his Republican presidential challengers criticized his anecdote.

“Trump denigrates military service by claiming it is ‘braver’ that he debated Hillary Clinton than what soldiers endure on the battlefield,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on X.

“Debating isn’t ‘brave’; it’s the bare minimum any candidate should do. Hiding from debates, on the other hand, is an example of cowardice."