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President Donald Trump drew widespread laughter and media attention after making an accidental innuendo about having a “threesome” with his sons and the Medal of Honor during a public event.
The Context of the Comment
During a ceremony marking the donation of the Roosevelt family’s Medal of Honor to a library, Trump was discussing famous military families. He highlighted Arthur and Douglas MacArthur, who became the first father-and-son duo to receive the nation’s highest military award.
While transitioning to his own family, Trump looked toward Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and made the unscripted joke:
“Now, as I see my two beautiful sons sitting there, I think I’m going to give one to myself, one to them, and we’ll have a threesome.”
Reassessing and Doubling Down
Realizing the phrasing sounded hyper-sexualized, Trump immediately shifted to clarify the dynamic, pivoting to individual awards for his sons and himself instead:
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- For his sons: He joked about awarding them the Congressional Medal of Honor for “their genius at hunting.”
- For himself: He joked he would take one for “taking on Russia, Russia, Russia or something.”
- The correction: He concluded by saying, “And we’ll have a third pair. No, I’m only kidding.”
Trump acknowledged that the phrasing was risky to say in front of the press, noting, “This is dangerous to say because the fake news is up there all over the place. And when I joke I always… I learned early on don’t be sarcastic in politics.”
Related Medal of Honor Remarks
Earlier in the same day, Trump also joked that he wanted to award himself the Medal of Honor but was blocked by advisors. He remarked, “I want to give one to myself, but they tell me and I’m not allowed to. What have I done… to deserve it? And they couldn’t think of anything, so I’m not happy with them today.”
Historically, Theodore Roosevelt remains the only U.S. president to have received the Medal of Honor, which was awarded posthumously by Bill Clinton in 2001. Roosevelt’s son, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., also earned one for his actions on D-Day, making them the second father-son pair in history to receive it.