'Stolen valor' Republican ditches honorary pin and dons Trump gold sneakers instead
A House Republican accused of "stolen valor" for donning a Special Forces award he didn't earn has dropped the pin and picked up a pair of gold Trump sneakers instead, according to a new report.
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) explained to reporters he made the decision “because you guys are vultures,” Politico reported Wednesday.
“Now that I don't wear that, what are you going to talk to me about?” said Nehls, who was reportedly also wearing a tie of former President Donald Trump hugging the American flag. “You guys are gonna be bored out of your minds.”
Trump has repeatedly hugged (and even kissed) the American flag at Conservative Political Action Conference events, first in 2019 and as recently as this in February.
The former president's golden sneaker line dropped in February — the same month a New York civil court judge found him liable for $464 million in fraud damages — at $399 a pair.
Some retailers are now offering Never Surrender sneakers at a 75 percent discount. Ties with pictures of Trump hugging the American flag retail at $37 on a website called Zazzle, apparently.
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Nehls' was spotted earlier this month sporting the notorious Combat Infantryman Badge pin that CBC News reports was revoked in 2023.
On Tuesday, Nehls bemoaned his plight as one of just 47 recipients out of 142,596 to have the honor rescinded in the past two decades.
"Unfortunately for me, as an America First Patriot and an outspoken member of Congress," he wrote on X, "there are no lengths to which the establishment won’t go to discredit me."
On Wednesday, Nehls also blamed journalists for being "dishonest," Politico reports.
“The American people know just how disgusting the media is,” Nehls told reporters. "I certainly don't have to justify myself to you guys.”
But as Politico points out, it's not just the media who raised concerns about Nehls, who served as a civil affairs officer, donning an honor designated for soldiers who engaged in combat.
“We hold ourselves to a higher standard as veterans,” one House Republican lawmaker told the news outlet NOTUS earlier this month. “He needs to stop wearing it.”
“It’s really shameful,” another reportedly said. “He didn’t earn it.”