What a distasteful thing to say.
Democrat Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois appeared not to be a fan of President Trump awarding American soldiers and veterans well-deserved medals during the State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
Following the State of the Union address, Kelly did a live-stream podcast where she mockingly claimed it was like an award show.
AOL provided Kelly’s full comments:
Illinois Democrat Rep. Robin Kelly laughed and mocked veterans honored at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address during a livestream Tuesday night.
Kelly, who is running for the Democratic nomination in Illinois to replace Sen. Dick Durbin in 2026, said the address was “like an award show,” referring to the awards Trump presented during the address. The Senate hopeful appeared on a livestream titled, “The Black People’s Response to the State of the Union,” to discuss the event.
“It was like an award show. You get a medal, you get a medal, you get a medal,” Kelly said on the livestream, with Podcaster Angela Rye adding, “Mo [Monique Pressley] just said you get a car, you get a car, y’all are on the same page,” referencing an internet meme mocking television personality Oprah Winfrey’s famous giveaways.
New York Democrat Rep. Yvette Clarke, who did not attend the event, said the address was “as horrific as I thought it would be.
Here’s the moment she made the comments:
Democrat Rep. Robin Kelly laughs at and mocks American veterans who received the Medal of Honor during President Trump's SOTU speech.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 25, 2026
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
Just for reference, this is what Kelly was mocking:
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump just presented the Congressional Medal of Honor to Eric Slover, the pilot who was wounded heroically carrying out the mission to capture Maduro
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 25, 2026
"Chief Warrant Officer Slover is still recovering from the serious wounds. But I'm thrilled to say that he… pic.twitter.com/b2aXcHGMJg
And this:
🔥🚨BREAKING: President Trump and Melania bestowed 100-year-old Navy Fighter Pilot Royce Williams with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during a secret 1952 mission in Korea, in which he downed four enemy jets while taking on tremendous fire. pic.twitter.com/3e1FX8x9tI
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) February 25, 2026
That’s not it:
.@POTUS honors World War Two hero Buddy Taggart in his State of the Union:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 25, 2026
"Buddy earned many honors, including a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, came home, started a family, and tonight, he is in the gallery looking forward to July 4th, 2026—his 100th birthday." ❤️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/qPG5GlRXGJ
And my favorite moment of the night:
Seeing Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe get his Purple Heart is still getting to me.
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) February 26, 2026
Faith moved mountains for him.pic.twitter.com/ekVqnO482R
