Donald Trump Believes He’s a War Hero — The Reason May Surprise You

Although he has often honored men in uniform publicly, President Donald Trump has a mixed history when it comes to discussing his own military service, or lack thereof. He reportedly called fallen soldiers "suckers" and "losers" in private conversation, and now, he's suggesting that he himself might be a war hero.

Following the president's most recent comments, many wanted to better understand in what context Trump had referred to himself as a war hero, and whether he was serious or not. Here's what we know.

During an interview on The Mark Levin Show on Aug. 19, Trump referred to both himself and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as war heroes.

“[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is a war hero because we work together. He’s a war hero,” Trump said to Levin. "I guess I am, too.”

“Nobody cares, but I am, too,” the president added. “I mean, I sent those planes,” referring to an attack he ordered on Iranian nuclear sites earlier this year.

Usually, the designation of war hero is reserved for actual soldiers who showed incredible feats of bravery on the battlefield, but Trump seems to be suggesting that because he has ordered soldiers to take part in military actions, he should also be given the designation.

Of course, most presidents have ordered military operations at some point. George W. Bush wielded American military power to invade Iraq, and Barack Obama did the same to take out Osama Bin Laden.

It's unclear whether Trump believes these other presidents would also be war heroes, or whether the president has something more specific in mind. What does seem clear, though, is that Trump was not joking in this particular case. Whether he would make that argument again or not, it seems clear that he was earnestly suggesting that he should be viewed as a war hero.

One of the earliest scandals of Trump's life in politics came in 2015, when he suggested that John McCain was not a war hero because he was captured during the Vietnam War.

When he first made the proclamation, it was a fairly major scandal, but a decade later, we are far more used to Trump suggesting things that seem to defy the normal categories we understand.

Trump has also made a concerted argument in recent days that he should be viewed as a peacemaker because of the number of wars he's helped to end. He's also shown great interest in receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

Being a war hero and the ultimate peacemaker is something of a contradiction in terms, but one that probably won't prevent Trump from insisting that he meets the definition for both terms. He might even argue that, because peace is preferable to war, the greatest war heroes of all are the ones who are able to prevent additional bloodshed.