Donald Trump accepts Purple Heart gift from wounded veteran, says 'much easier' than combat

Trump was already under fire for his public feud with a Gold Star family

Alex Wong/Getty

Donald Trump accepted a Purple Heart from a military veteran during a rally on Tuesday, saying it was "much easier" to receive the medal as a gift than by serving in combat.

"I always wanted to get the Purple Heart," Mr Trump said. "This was much easier"

Mr Trump said Lt Col Louis Dorfman gave him his actual Purple Heart, but an NBC reporter was told the one given to the candidate was a replica.

The Republican candidate has been locked in a bitter public dispute with the family of a Muslim soldier who was killed in Iraq and immediately attracted fresh criticism for his off-hand response accepting an honour bestowed upon soldiers wounded in combat – and joking about how easily he received his.

“I fought in Iraq, was injured, and was awarded a Purple Heart,” Sean Barney, a Delaware congressional candidate wounded in Iraq, tweeted. “No one should ever want a Purple Heart.”

The mother of US Army National Guard Sgt Patrick McCaffrey accused Mr Trump of making light of the honour.

“Well, people have the freedom of speech and the freedom of action, so whoever gave that Purple Heart to Mr Trump is, you know, it’s his decision not mine,” Nadia McCaffrey told CNN. “To me, a Purple Heart is sacred for what it represents and should not be given to anyone who didn’t deserve one.”

Although Mr Trump never served in the US military, he had previously said “I felt that I was in the military” because of time he spent at the New York Military Academy when he was in the eighth grade.

Mr Trump avoided the Vietnam War through multiple deferments due to college and bad feet.

Mr Trump’s acceptance of the veteran’s Purple Heart comes amid his feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Gold Star parents whose son Humayun Khan was killed in action in 2004 while serving in Iraq.

Mr Khan rebuked the Republican nominee during a speech at the Democratic National Convention last Thursday.

“You have sacrificed nothing and no one,” he said, addressing Mr Trump while holding pocket-sized version of the US Constitution.

In response, Mr Trump said he “made a lot of sacrifices”, citing the numerous “great structures” he built.

Mr Trump based his appeal on rebuilding the US military and the treatment of veterans at home and abroad. However, his hostile response to the Khan family drew sharp criticism from fellow Republicans and military organisations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars.