--- title: Donald Trump Says He Always Wanted A Purple Heart description: Donald Trump said he has always wanted to receive a Purple Heart, awarded to those who were killed or wounded while serving in the military. canonical: https://time.com/4435340/donald-trump-military-purple-heart/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-02T16:40:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:45:11.859Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Says He Always Wanted A Purple Heart og:description: After a voter handed him a copy of one. og:url: https://time.com/4435340/donald-trump-military-purple-heart/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt764fe2ed6d03f1f3/6988a0d3ab6d77d4346aac4a/donald-trump-ashburn1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Says He Always Wanted A Purple Heart twitter:description: After a voter handed him a copy of one. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt764fe2ed6d03f1f3/6988a0d3ab6d77d4346aac4a/donald-trump-ashburn1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:20 video:published: 2016-08-02 section: politics topics: Purple Heart, veterans, rally, military honors, campaign event, authenticity of medal genre: event coverage, rally footage tones: casual, celebratory, humorous emotions: pride (medium), amusement (medium), gratitude (low) sentiment: positive audience: political news readers, veterans, rally attendees, voters people: Lieutenant Colonel Louis Dorfman content_suitability: politics [00:00-01:20] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Donald Trump Says He Always Wanted A Purple Heart > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=42d9bd94-d69b-47c9-8b3f-13b057eb530f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Veteran Gives Trump A "Real" Purple Heart [Watch (HLS stream): Veteran Gives Trump A "Real" Purple Heart](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/J28AmjJ6.m3u8) (1:20)  _Published 2016-08-02. Before his rally in Ashburn, Va., Trump said a veteran gave him his “real” Purple Heart (although a reporter at the event said the man told her it was a copy)._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary A rally speaker recounts a moment before his rally in Ashburn, Va., when a man handed him a Purple Heart and claimed it was his real one. The speaker says the honor was significant and invites the man, Lieutenant Colonel Louis Dorfman, onto the stage. Dorfman declines to speak and asks the speaker to keep saying what he has been saying. ## Key points - A man handed the speaker his Purple Heart and said it was his real one. (00:03) - The speaker says he always wanted to get the Purple Heart and that this was much easier. (00:30) - The speaker calls the moment an honor and invites the man onto the stage. (00:39) - The man is identified on stage as Lieutenant Colonel Louis Dorfman. (00:41) - The speaker asks Lieutenant Colonel Dorfman whether he would like to say something. (01:12) - Dorfman declines to speak and asks the speaker to keep saying what he has been saying. (01:14) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:41] Speaker receives Purple Heart from a man. The speaker describes a man handing him a Purple Heart and his reaction to it. - [00:41 to 01:20] Dorfman invited on stage. The speaker invites Lieutenant Colonel Louis Dorfman onto the stage and asks him to speak, which he declines. ## Key quotes - [00:03] speaker: "he handed me his" - [00:14] speaker: "Is that like the" - [00:23] speaker: "that's my real purple heart." - [00:34] speaker: "this was much easier." - [01:12] speaker: "Lieutenant Coronel, would you like to say" - [01:14] Lieutenant Colonel Louis Dorfman: "no sir. I'd like you to just keep" ## Questions this video answers - Did a veteran give the speaker a real Purple Heart? [00:03] - Is the Purple Heart the speaker received a real one or a copy? [00:14] - Who is Lieutenant Colonel Louis Dorfman? [00:41] - Does Lieutenant Colonel Dorfman want to speak on stage? [01:14] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-01:20]: Footage is from a political rally and features a political figure speaking.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Aug 2, 2016 4:40 PM UTC Before his rally in Ashburn, Va., Trump said a veteran gave him his “real” Purple Heart (although a reporter at the event said the man told her it was a copy).  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Aug 2, 2016 4:40 PM UTC Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has always wanted to receive a Purple Heart, a military decoration awarded to those who were wounded or killed while serving in the U.S. military. Before his rally in Ashburn, Va., Trump said a veteran gave him his “real” Purple Heart (although a reporter at the event [said the man told her it was a copy](https://twitter.com/KatyTurNBC/status/760497653109125120)). “I always wanted to get the Purple Heart,” Trump told the crowd, holding it up to show them. “This was much easier.” Trump’s comment came one day after [a New York _Times_ report](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/us/politics/donald-trump-draft-record.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&%5Fr=0) found he received five deferments exempting him from military service in Vietnam: one 1-Y medical deferment for heel spurs and four for education. Trump’s lack of military service has also been in the news recently in light of [his feud with the Khans](http://time.com/4432816/donald-trump-khizr-ghazala-khan/?iid=sr-link3), Muslim [Gold Star parents](http://time.com/4434128/donald-trump-khizr-khan-gold-star-parents/?xid=homepage) who lost their son in Iraq in 2004\. “I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard,” [Trump said](http://time.com/4431997/donald-trump-khizr-khan-muslim-solder/?iid=sr-link1) after father Khizr Kahn said Trump had “sacrificed nothing and no one.” Trump’s Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton pointed to his “sacrifices” comment on Twitter when she responded to the Purple Heart comment. “This from a man who says he’s ‘sacrificed’ for our country,” she said. > [](https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/760507891166085120) Several recent presidential candidates received the Purple Heart—John McCain, John Kerry and Bob Dole—as did John F. Kennedy. Trump is not the only man to run for office who avoided military service during Vietnam; President George W. Bush served in the Air National Guard and [President Bill Clinton signed up for ROTC](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/etc/draftletter.html) to avoid the draft. In 1997, Trump said on the _Howard Stern Show_ that avoiding sexually transmitted diseases in the dating scene was “my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave soldier.” He also has said he “always felt that I was in the military,” because he attended a military boarding school, [the New York _Times_ reports](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/09/us/politics/donald-trump-likens-his-schooling-to-military-service-in-book.html). ## Transcript [00:00] Something very nice just happened to me. A man came [00:03] up to me, and he handed me his [00:08] purple heart. [ SOUND ] Now I said to [00:14] him, [ APPLAUSE ] Is that like the [00:19] real one, or is that a copy? [ LAUGH ] And he said, [00:23] that's my real purple heart. I have such confidence in [00:26] you, and I said, man that's [00:30] big stuff. I always wanted to get the purple heart, this [00:34] was much easier. But I tell it was such [00:39] an honor and maybe I can bring him up on the stage, [00:41] Lieutenant Colonel Louis Dorfman, I [00:49] just happen. [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] [00:54] [ NOISE ] [ APPLAUSE ] [01:12] So, I said Lieutenant Coronel, would you like to say [01:14] something? He goes, no sir. 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