Dem Mocks Trump For Honoring American Heroes At SOTU: ‘Like An Award Show!’

The State of the Union turned into a Rorschach test for how people view leadership and ceremony, as two Democratic members of Congress maliciously mocked President Trump.

On one side of the room — or rather, on the “State of the People” podcast — you had Democratic Representatives Robin Kelly and Yvette Clark, and they were not exactly feeling the vibe. Clark described the experience as “horrific,” cheerfully confessing she bailed on the speech early. Then you had Robin Kelly, who compared the whole thing to a Hollywood awards show. She mocked the President’s presentation of awards, saying, “It was like… You get a medal. You get a medal. You get a medal.” The implication there being that the gravity of these honors was somehow being diluted by the “showmanship” of the event.

Democrat Rep. Robin Kelly laughs at and mocks American veterans who received the Medal of Honor during President Trump's SOTU speech.

KELLY: “It was like an award show, you get a medal! You get a medal! You get a medal!”

Absolutely despicable. pic.twitter.com/dIPgxZayJp

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 25, 2026

But here’s the thing about those medals: the people receiving them weren’t exactly C-list celebrities getting a gift bag. We’re talking about E. Royce Williams, a 100-year-old Navy Captain who, back in 1952, took on seven Soviet MiGs by himself in a secret dogfight and lived to tell the tale. He finally received the Medal of Honor after seventy years of silence.

Then there was the heavy stuff — the real-world consequences of the current moment. Trump honored Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and the family of the late Spc. Sarah Beckstrom. These were West Virginia National Guard members who were ambushed and shot right in D.C. near the White House just months ago.

You had Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, who took three bullets to the leg while piloting the mission to capture Nicolás Maduro. And finally, Scott Ruskan, a Coast Guard swimmer on his first mission, who pulled 164 people — including an 11-year-old girl — out of those catastrophic Texas floods.

So you have this massive disconnect. On one hand, you have lawmakers like Kelly and Clark who see the ceremony as a mocked-up “Oprah-style” giveaway—a political performance they found so “horrific” they had to leave.

On the other hand, you have these astonishing stories of human endurance and sacrifice that the Trump administration is compelled to honor.

Most of us see heroes finally being recognized.

But the mean-spirited among us just see a guy they don’t like handing out trophies.