The following is the full transcript of President Donald Trump’s remarks at the Medals of Sacrifice Event in the Oval Office, where he awarded the families of fallen law enforcement officers.
Listen to the audio version here:
Medals of Sacrifice Event in the Oval Office
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much, everybody. It’s a real honor to welcome all of you to the White House, the famous Oval Office. And we award the first-ever medals of sacrifice to three heroic law enforcement officers from Palm Beach County, Florida. I went to the service. It was crazy. It was just horrible.
Earlier today, Congressman Brian Mast, who’s right here, introduced a bill to ensure this new medal will be awarded to any law enforcement officer or first responder who gives his or her life in the line of duty.
I also want to recognize Lara and Eric Trump for their work to make this medal a reality. Thank you, Lara. Thank you, Eric. Appreciate it very much.
Thanks as well to Attorney General Pam Bondi, who’s with us. Pam, thank you very much. I appreciate it. So busy. She’s so busy, but she wouldn’t miss it. Secret Service Director Sean Curran, Sean, wherever you may be, hi, Sean, Congressman Byron Donalds, State Representative Meg Weinberger, and Dan Newland. Thank you. Thank you, Dan. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, Byron. Thank you, Eric. Really great that you’re here.
We also want to express our gratitude to Major Paul Vercotta. Where’s Paul? Paul. Thank you, Paul. Captain Ryan Mugwich. Thank you, Captain. Lieutenant Shandon Hood, Shandon. Sergeant Scott Yoder. Thank you very much, Sergeant. Deputy Sheriff Christopher Farron. Thank you very much, Christopher. And Deputy Sheriff Chris Cameron. Thank you very much. Thank you. And all of the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, we have many people here representing that incredible office. I know it very well.
Very special thanks as well to Alexander Arnault, who’s a tremendous person with his father who – they own Tiffany, and they really devoted a tremendous time and effort to helping us design this beautiful medal. And thank you very much, Alexander. I appreciate that you came. You came all the way from France and the incredible team at Tiffany & Company. And Tiffany is doing great. He’s a fantastic leader. You know all about the fantastic – the great Arnault family. And the fact that you came for this is very meaningful, actually. It’s really incredible.
And for crafting this beautiful medal – and I know he looked at it and he worked on it and he had his best people working on it, and people are loving it. And this will go on for a long time. You’ll be making that medal for a long time. Unfortunately, in one way it’s very sad, but we properly respect the ones that have lost their lives.
Honoring Three Fallen Officers
Today, we also remember three remarkable heroes who will become the medal’s first-ever recipients. It’s a big honor. Corporal Luis Paez, Jr., Deputy Sheriff Ralph Butch Waller, Jr., and Deputy Sheriff Ignacio Dan Diaz. And thank you very much.
You’re represented by family members who are – I was there with them. That was devastation. They were devastated. We’re profoundly grateful to be joined by their loved ones. Corporal Paez’s former wife, Doris. Thank you, Doris, for being with us. Thank you very much. Thank you. And his son, Cameron. Good-looking son, too. Deputy Waller’s wife, Denise. Thank you, Denise, very much. And Deputy Diaz’s daughter, Alexandria. Thank you. Thank you very much.
I want to thank you all, and the three officers we recognized today were close friends. They were really close friends and colleagues, and together they dedicated their lives to protecting the people of Palm Beach County and well beyond. And they were beloved by everyone and respected by all really, really top-of-the-line people.
Countless times when I was in Florida, they proudly served. And they saved a lot of lives. They were going around saving a lot of lives. Their reputation was incredible. They served in motorcades for presidents, called presidential motorcades, a very dangerous job actually. And I was deeply honored to attend their memorial service last year.
In a horrific accident in November, the three officers were working to restart one of their motorcycles on the shoulder of a road when they were struck by a SUV struck dead center. When all three perished from their injuries, essentially they perished immediately.
This was a terrible tragedy. It shook the entire Palm Beach community like very, very few events I’ve ever seen. All of Florida mourned their loss, and today our entire nation joins in honoring these three incredible patriots taken from us much too soon. Much, much too soon.
To Doris Cameron, Denise, to Alexandria, and to all of those who love these brave men, we are deeply sorry for your loss and eternally grateful for their sacrifice, their great, great sacrifice. It’s respected by everybody.
We’ll never forget their legacy, and we will never forget the debt we owe all of these great law enforcement heroes who have given their lives to keep our community safe and make America strong again. We have so many unbelievable people in the police department and other departments, first responders, firemen, a lot of brave, incredible people.
And I’d now like to ask my son, Eric Trump, to say a few words, followed by Congressman Brian Mast and Alexander Arnault, who’s going to be giving out the medals. Then I’ll present the medals of sacrifice. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you for being here, too. Thank you. Please.
Remarks from Eric Trump
ERIC TRUMP: Mr. President, thank you very much. My father and I attended that funeral that day, and I can’t tell you how moving that experience was. And one simple question was asked, why is there no medal, medal of valor, medal of sacrifice that commemorates law enforcement officers, first responders, who have fallen in the line of duty?
And Congressman Mast, he was there with me that day, he was with my father, and we said we’re going to take care of this problem.
We’re going to get involved. And the first call that was made was to the great Arnault family who owns Tiffany’s, and they said, without hesitation, that they’d be honored to design something absolutely beautiful that’s a tribute to these incredible officers, these incredible EMS responders.
And here we are, roughly six months later, with something that’s truly beautiful. I want to thank the Tiffany’s family, the Arnault family, for all the work they put into it, and their entire team. I can tell you, this has been a nonstop effort.
I want to thank the Congressman. Without the Congressman and his staff, we would not be here today. I want to thank the President for allowing us to do this. It’s such an important mission. This medal is to be given for hundreds and hundreds of years to come.
And last but not least, I want to send, on behalf of this entire nation, on behalf of our entire family, the incredible families of the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office and your incredible families. They made the ultimate sacrifice, and know that we all appreciate their dedication. Many of us knew them, have met them, and we love them very much, and I’m sure they’re missed. But today, hopefully, this is a great tribute to them, and I know because of our wonderful President that this medal will be given out for many years to come. Thank you very much.
CONGRESSMAN MAST: I would just start by thanking all of our law enforcement officers. The job is always dangerous, and you do it still every single day. And I would thank the families, because the job, as you are a reminder of, is often deadly.
And I would thank you, Mr. President, because for the first time in our nation’s history, you’re willing to say to all of our first responders, all of our law enforcement, all of our firefighters, we’re going to recognize that sacrifice from the Office of the Presidency for each and every one of them. And that’s never taken place before, that recognition, that it’s a job that’s always dangerous and often deadly, and there’s a debt that can never be repaid, but you’re willing to recognize that debt. So thank you, Mr. President, for recognizing the debt. Thank you.
Alexander Arnault on Tiffany’s Contribution
ALEXANDER ARNAULT: Mr. President, Congressman, thank you very much for involving Tiffany in this process. We’re very honored to having made these medals. Tiffany is a jeweler, as everyone knows it, but also a maker of American heritage. We were making the Medal of Honor in the 19th and early 20th century, and it’s only natural that we followed with this heritage just as we work on other very important American heirlooms.
This medal was made in Providence, Rhode Island, in our largest factory in the U.S., out of silver, plated in 24-karat gold, just like the ceiling of this office, and represents the coat of arms of the United States. Mr. President, thank you very much.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. Larry, would you like to say a few words?
LARRY: First, to be brief, to the families, we are so sorry for your sacrifice. We want your officer from your family represented, not just Palm Beach County, but the United States, with honor. Mr. President, thank you for allowing this to go forward. To my colleague, Congressman Mast, thank you for your leadership. We will always honor first responders in the United States of America.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: So… Do you want to help us out with this? Can you feel it when it moves? That’s beautiful. That’s beautiful.
So, can we ask you now, Mr. Semple, to tell us your life story? Please.
FAMILY MEMBER: I would like to thank you very much for honoring my husband and his brothers and for being here. Making it still very special for them and for all the people that come at a club you never want to be in. But you honor them and it just means the world. Thank you. Thank you for everything.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you. I appreciate it.
FAMILY MEMBER: Do you want me to go over there or here?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, that’s okay.
FAMILY MEMBER: I viewed my dad as Superman. He’s someone my whole life you look up to. He’s an amazing guy. And it’s horrible that this happened to all three families. But I’m glad that something was done about it. We got represented and everyone in the future will be. So, thank you.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. You worked very hard. Thank you very much.
PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE REPRESENTATIVE: Mr. President, on behalf of Sheriff Rick Bradshaw and every member of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, we can’t thank you enough for taking the lead on this and recognizing the extreme sacrifice of our three brothers. Words really can’t express how thankful we are.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. And we have a fourth, and we’re going to give this to you. Hopefully, it’s maybe never going to be given out, but we’ll give it to Sheriff Bradshaw. He’s an incredible sheriff. You’ve done an amazing job, and we’ll have it should something happen. And that’s what I do. Okay? Thank you. And I hope it never has to be given out, frankly.
SHERIFF BRADSHAW: Thank you, Mr. President.
Questions from Reporters
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you. Do you have any questions for what you just saw? It’s so important. I mean, people have talked about it for years. I want to thank Brian Mast for what he’s done. Congressman, he’s been unbelievable. He’s a great representative. And he worked hard. He wanted to do it right. And we wanted to go somehow. We could get them done pretty easily in one way, but we wouldn’t get them done by Tiffany. And the fact that the Arno family stepped up was absolutely incredible. It means more. When you get a name like that, I think it means something extra. But these were incredible people, and they’re looking down on you right now, and they’re very, very proud. Very, very proud of all of you. And it’s too bad we had to be doing this. But I was there with you that day. That was a rough day. Thank you very much.
Would you have any questions?
REPORTER: Mr. President, do you have plans to give this award to any other families across the country who are in the same position as having lost family in the line of duty?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: We’re looking at the possibility of that, yeah. You had a lot of people. A lot of people die in the line of duty when you think of it, and we figured it was time to start. We haven’t had the situation arise. This was a terrible situation. We haven’t had it arise yet, but we’re looking at going back a little bit and see what we can do about that. Yes. Strongly.
Discussion About Call with Putin
REPORTER: On your call with President Putin today, you’d mentioned that the Pope would like to take a role, potentially, in mediating these talks. Does that mean that the U.S. is taking a step back from?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, no, no. I think it would be great to have it at the Vatican. Maybe it would have some extra significance, and I saw that it was discussed yesterday, so I thought — and people told me that they’d be honored to do it. I would imagine they would be. And so, no, I think it would be maybe helpful. There’s tremendous bitterness, anger, and I think maybe that could help some of that anger. So having it at the Vatican would be — in Rome would be a very — I think it would be a great idea.
REPORTER: Mr. President, as you know, two and a half months ago, Ukraine, President Zelensky, agreed to that 30-day ceasefire that’s been on the table all of that time. What was the extent of your conversation with President Putin today about having him agree to that same 30-day ceasefire proposal that you, Mr. President, put on the table?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, what we’ve done, and very strongly, is we said, let’s get this thing going. You know, I had many of the leaders of European nations on the line with me right after the call. And we have to get that thing solved. Five thousand young people every single week, on average. And I’ve seen satellite pictures. You don’t want to see these pictures. We’ll have to see what happens. This was not my war. This is not a war that would have happened if I were President. This is not my war. I’m just here to try and help. We’ve spent hundreds of billions of dollars on this war. And yet, that’s not — frankly, we made much more than that just in four days in the Middle East. It’s a lot of money, but it’s — we do much. This is about thousands of people dying every single week. 5,000, 6,000 people dying every single week. And just like you have the relatives here, wives and children and everything, you have — you know, these soldiers, they say goodbye in Ukraine and in Russia. And then their parents never see them again, except maybe in pictures of horrible scenes, because I’ve seen some scenes I’ve never seen anything like it. So we’re going to see if we can get it taken care of.
REPORTER: Mr. President, on Ukraine and on your call today that you had with President Putin, you said last week that you thought nothing was going to happen, no advances would be made until you and Putin got together. Do you still feel that way?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think something is going to happen. It’s a very — big egos involved, I tell you. Big egos involved. But I think something is going to happen. And if it doesn’t, I’d just back away, and they’re going to have to keep going. Again, this was a European situation. It should have remained a European situation. It should have remained. But we have — because the past administration felt very strongly that we should be involved, and we got involved much more than Europe did in terms of the money and all of the things that we gave. We gave massive amounts — I think record-setting amounts given to a foreign — there’s never been anything like this — both weaponry and money. And Europe gave a lot also, but they didn’t give anywhere near what we gave. We gave probably almost three times the amount. And it’s just a shame. The whole thing is a shame. The level of death here is just a shame.
REPORTER: Did you ask President Putin to meet with you?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: About what?
REPORTER: About Ukraine.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Of course I did. I talked to him about it. I said, when are we going to end this? Vladimir, I’ve known him for a long time now. I said, when are we going to end this bloodshed, this bloodbath? It’s a bloodbath. And I do believe he wants to end it. You know, when I made the call, I told the people last night — I spoke to the heads of the different countries, Germany and Finland. We had Italy, as you know, and the UK was on the line today, and a couple of others. And then they were, in turn, calling everyone. Ursula was there from the European Union. She was terrific. And we — you know, we spoke for a long time about it. And they got a problem. It’s a big, big problem. It’s a terrible war. It’s very hard to extradite themselves away from what’s taking place over there. The amount of — the amount of anger, the amount of hate, and the amount of death. It’s very hard. It’s a very tough situation.
But I said to them, we got to get going. And I did say also, if I thought that you couldn’t do it, let’s step away, because what are you going to do? We don’t have boots on the ground. We wouldn’t have boots on the ground. But we do have a big stake. And the financial amount that was put up is just crazy. It’s crazy. This isn’t for us. This is for somebody else. The amount of money that we put up is record-setting. There’s never been anything like this. And that includes weapons. Never been anything like this yet.
Please.
REPORTER: Mr. President, on the medal, how far back do you intend to look to consider for the recipients? And then, on your call today, if Putin ultimately proves to be the obstacle to peace, is further arming Ukraine on the table at that point?
TRUMP: Well, we’ll look. I mean, we’re going to look. I hope that — I like to think positively, frankly. I just can’t believe that they allow this to continue. This would have never happened if I were President. And most people admit that. It would have — and it didn’t happen for four years. And October 7th would have never happened either. That’s the attack on Israel. That would have never happened. So sad. A lot of things wouldn’t have happened. But so sad to see it.
Now, I think that there’s a good chance we can get this done. I believe Putin wants to do it. Now, if I thought Putin didn’t want — I mean, that’s what I do. My whole life is, like, deals. One big deal. And if I thought that President Putin did not want to get this over with, I wouldn’t — I wouldn’t even be talking about it. Because I’d just pull out.
REPORTER: What did you hear that gave you confidence that he does want peace versus buying time?
TRUMP: I think he’s had enough. I think he’s had enough. This has been a long time. This has been going on for more than three years. When you think, right? It’s been going on for a long time.
Yeah, please.
REPORTER: Thank you, Mr. President. When you implored him to stop previously, flatten your stock on social media, and he didn’t. He just continued. I’m curious, did you bring that up with him in your phone call today?
TRUMP: You have to talk about it. Sorry.
REPORTER: You previously, on Twitter/Social, implored President Putin to stop. You wrote, flatten your stock. And he didn’t stop. Quite the contrary. I’m curious, did you bring that up on your call with him today?
TRUMP: No. No, I didn’t bring that up. But I did say, it’s time. You got to stop this thing. And I believe he wants to stop. Look, I would be, I think, very able to tell whether or not he wanted to or what — I thought there was a very good chance, like a 50-50 chance that he would say, I want to take the whole thing. I didn’t know what he was going to say. And then to have a different kind of a problem. But I believe he wants to stop.
Sure.
Trump’s Red Line on Ukraine Negotiations
REPORTER: Just now, about backing away or walking away, if it looks like it’s going to be an intractable problem, do you have a red line in your head of what would cause you to back away?
TRUMP: Yeah, in my head, but not something I’m going to announce. But, yeah, definitely in my head, I do.
REPORTER: What exactly would that look like? Because this is not our war.
TRUMP: This is not my war. This is not the war — I mean, we got ourselves entangled in something that we shouldn’t have been involved in. And we would have been a lot better off. And maybe the whole thing would have been better off, because it can’t be much worse. It’s a real mess. It’s a deathtrap.
So, I think that — yeah, I wish I do have a certain line. But I don’t want to say what that line is, because I think it makes the negotiation even more difficult than it is.
Yes, please.
REPORTER: Mr. President, thank you all for your sacrifice. I’m so sorry for your loss. You mentioned the bloodbath you want to see end in Ukraine. You mentioned that you believe Putin wants peace, but he just attacked Ukraine yesterday. So what makes you think that he wants peace?
TRUMP: Well, he’s in a war. You know what I mean? Nobody said, don’t. They’re fighting. They’re attacking. They’re attacking each other. And people are dying all the time. He’s in a war. He’s fighting a war. Nobody said he was going to stop. I think — is it terrible? Yeah, it’s terrible. I do. I think it’s terrible.
REPORTER: Do you know if President Biden’s — President Biden’s diagnosed with cancer before, and then I’m asking about reconciliation. Why haven’t you increased the sanctions on Russia yet?
TRUMP: Well, because I think there’s a chance of getting something done. And if you do that, you can also make it much worse. But there could be a time when that’s going to happen.
Yep.
Trump Responds to Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis
REPORTER: Mr. President —
TRUMP: I should have said that.
REPORTER: Do you want to respond to President Biden being diagnosed with cancer, or are you going to call your processor?
TRUMP: I think it’s very sad, actually. I’m surprised that it wasn’t — you know, the public wasn’t notified a long time ago because to get to that stage, that’s a long time. I just had my physical. You saw that. You saw the results of that particular test. I think that test is standard to pretty much anybody getting a physical — a good physical.
We had the doctors at the White House and over at Walter Reed, which is a fantastic hospital. I do it. I did a very complete physical, including cognitive tests, I’m proud to announce. I aced it. Got them all. I got them all right. You proud of me? Your husband would be proud of me for getting them all right. It’s a little risk. If I didn’t get them all right, these people would be after me. It would be not a good situation.
But I think, frankly, anybody running for President should, you know, take a cognitive test. They say it’s unconstitutional. But I would say, in that particular case, having a cognitive test wouldn’t be so bad. But when you take tests, medical, as a male, that test is very standard. I don’t know if it’s given to everybody, but it’s given just about. And it takes a long time to get to that situation.
Now, I think, you know, to get to that stage, I think that if you take a look, it’s the same doctor that said that Joe was cognitively fine. There was nothing wrong with him. Well, he said, if it’s the same doctor, he said there was nothing wrong there. And that’s being proven to be a sad situation.
And the auto pen is becoming a very big deal. And, you know, the auto pen is becoming a big deal because it seems like that maybe was the President who ever operated the auto pen. But when they say that that was not good, they also, you know, you have to look and you have to say that the test was not so good either.
In other words, there are things going on that the public wasn’t informed. And I think somebody is going to have to speak to his doctor if it’s the same or even if it’s two separate doctors. Why wasn’t the cognitive ability? Why wasn’t that discussed? And I think the doctor said he’s just fine. And it’s turned out that’s not so.
It’s very dangerous. Look, this is no longer politically correct. This is dangerous for our country. Look at the mess we’re in. You’re talking about all these questions on Ukraine and Russia that would have never happened. As an example, if I were President, it would have never happened.
The other thing is you have to say why did it take so long? I mean, when you this takes a long time, could take years to get to this level of danger. So it’s a look. It’s a very, very sad situation. I feel very badly about it. And I think people should try and find out what happened because I’ll tell you the Walt. I don’t know if it had anything to do with the hospital. Walter Reed is really good. There’s some of the best doctors I’ve ever seen. I don’t even know if they were involved, but a doctor was involved in each case. Maybe it was the same doctor. And somebody is not telling the facts. It’s a big. It’s a big problem.
Five minutes. At the University of
REPORTER: Ukraine said that the Ukrainians are ready for a ceasefire. They’re ready for peace negotiations. In your mind, is Ukraine doing enough to get this together?
TRUMP: I’d rather tell you in about two weeks from now because I can’t say yes or no. I think look, he’s a strong person. So he’s a strong guy. And he’s not the easiest person to deal with. But I think that he wants to stop. It’s a very bad thing that’s happening over there. I think he wants to stop. But I could answer that question better in two weeks or four weeks from now. I hope the answer is that he wants to get it.
Closing Remarks
TRUMP: So I want to thank everybody very much. And on behalf of the United States of America, we greatly honor your family, friends, everybody that had to suffer so much. But you have some three great men that are looking down on you, and they’re very proud right now. They’re very proud. This is the Oval Office, and they’re a big part of it now. They’re a part of the Oval Office, the White House. And thank you all very much. Thank you. Thank you, Sheriff. Thank you, guys.
