Vietnam Vet Honors Donald Trump with Purple Heart, Says ‘Couldn’t Think of Anybody More Deserving’

A Vietnam War veteran presented former President Donald Trump with his Purple Heart during an event at a town hall in North Carolina. Dwight shared that he felt really moved by how Trump reacted after the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, in July. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) moderated the event and read aloud the letter he had written to Trump after the incident.

"Dear President Trump, watching you during the Butler rally, and you getting back up, both my wife and I gave a sigh of relief as well as a few tears...I would be honored if you would accept this small token I received as a young marine in Vietnam. My wife and I both thought it appropriate. God bless you, your family, and the United States of America," Luna recited. When Dwight handed him the envelope containing the Purple Heart, Trump initially joked, "Looks like a check. It's a check. It's cash." Dwight then addressed Trump directly, saying, "I couldn't think of anybody more deserving of a Purple Heart." Praising Trump's resilience during the Butler incident, he added, "You took it. You laid down there. You got back up, and the first words out of your mouth was, 'Fight, fight, fight.'"

The veteran's admiration was evident as he continued, "You didn't even have anything to shoot back at him. You got guts." Trump in response, humbly acknowledged that it was a close call. "I got very lucky. And maybe it wasn't so much luck. Maybe it is something else, right? Maybe there's something else up there." The Purple Heart is a top military award for people who get hurt or killed in action. Trump skipped military service during the Vietnam War citing bone spurs but now has been given two of these medals by veterans. In 2016, a retired lieutenant colonel gave him the same at a rally in Ashburn, Virginia, as per Mediaite. 

Following his interaction with Dwight, Trump made a lighthearted comment about the chair he had been sitting in, which prompted him to stand instead. "Beautiful guy," he said of Dwight before adding, "I think I'm gonna stand. This chair is the most uncomfortable chair. It, first of all, it spins. And one thing I don't want is to fall on my a** because...that will be the only story." The town hall event also touched on other topics. It included the federal response to Hurricane Helene, as per the New York Post.

Trump criticized the current administration's handling of the disaster and compared it to Hurricane Katrina. "This is Katrina," he declared. "They are doing the worst job on a hurricane that any administration has ever done." Trump's strong words resonated with the audience in North Carolina. He further asserted, "They're giving you lousy treatment in North Carolina, and we don't like that. So, we're going to let it be known. And they have to get a lot better because people are not happy."