President Donald Trump left a North Dakota crowd stunned on Wednesday after he made an off-color joke about his two eldest sons while discussing the nation’s highest military honor.
The remark came near the tail end of a lengthy speech at the dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora. Trump was talking about father-son pairs who earned the Medal of Honor when the joke slipped out, drawing gasps and laughter from the audience.
How the Joke Unfolded
Trump had been discussing Theodore Roosevelt and his son, General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who together are among only two father-son duos in American history to receive the Medal of Honor.
The other pair, he noted, was Arthur MacArthur and his son, General Douglas MacArthur. Both men earned the honor for what the medal citation describes as gallantry above and beyond the call of duty.
As he spoke, Trump spotted his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump sitting in the crowd. He then made an unplanned comparison between his own family and the historic military pairs. “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,” he said.
Trump Tries to Walk It Back
Sensing the audience’s reaction, Trump quickly attempted to soften the moment. He pivoted to suggesting he would give the medal to just one of his two sons instead, along with one for himself. Neither of his sons, much like Trump himself, has served in the U.S. military.
“Okay, I’ll pick out one of the two. I’ll give them the Congressional Medal of Honor for something, for their genius at hunting, and I’ll get one for taking on Russia, Russia, Russia, or something, and we’ll have a third pair now,” he said.
He then added that he was “only kidding,” seemingly aware of how the comment had landed with the crowd. The moment quickly circulated online after a video of the exchange spread across social media.
A Medal With Real History Behind It
The joke stood in contrast to an earlier, more solemn moment from the same day’s events. Hours before his remarks, Trump took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the new library.
During that event, he presented Theodore Roosevelt’s actual Medal of Honor, which had been kept in the White House collection, to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Burgum, a former governor of North Dakota, accepted the medal on behalf of the newly opened institution. Trump also revealed that he had privately floated the idea of awarding himself a medal before the event. He said he ultimately dropped the plan after his sons told him they could not think of anything he had done to deserve it.
“I want to give one to myself, but they tell me, and I’m allowed to,” Trump said at the earlier ceremony, referencing the informal pushback from his family. The exchange suggests the medal joke had been on his mind well before he stepped onto the stage for his main remarks.
It also hints that the risque comment, while unscripted, was tied to a theme he had already been mulling over that day.
A Rambling Speech Beyond the Headline Moment
The threesome comment was just one piece of a much longer and often unpredictable speech. Trump used the occasion to criticize what he called backbench congressional candidates while also taking aim at his predecessors, including former President Joe Biden.
He mixed in boasts about his administration’s accomplishments throughout the address, which stretched well over an hour.
At one point, Trump shared an anecdote about a police officer who allegedly approached him in tears to thank him for economic policies that boosted his retirement savings.
According to Trump, the officer said his 401k account rose 84 percent, which he credited with helping repair his marriage. The claim drew attention for its specificity, though most police officers rely on defined-benefit pensions rather than investment accounts of that kind.
Trump also used part of his speech to criticize immigration policy under previous administrations. He contrasted the “strong, smart” leadership of figures like Roosevelt with what he described as a lack of accountability under prior border policies.
The remarks fit a familiar pattern for the president, who often blends historical tributes with pointed political commentary.
The ‘Threesome’ Joke Quickly Overshadowed the Event
It is worth noting that the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora is not an official presidential library operated by the National Archives. Unlike traditional presidential libraries, it does not house official documents or research materials from Roosevelt’s time in office.
The distinction did not stop Trump from treating the dedication as a major milestone worth an extended address.
By the end of the event, the threesome remark had already begun making waves online, overshadowing much of the rest of the speech. Clips of the moment spread quickly, with many viewers reacting to both the joke itself and Trump’s attempt to recover from it in real time.
Whether the moment fades quickly or continues to draw attention will likely depend on how the Trump family and the White House respond in the coming days.
