Arizona State Senator Mark Kelly on Wednesday sharply criticized former President Donald Trump for his recent comments on the awarding of the Medal of Honor.

“What I’m hearing from Donald Trump are the words of a coward,” said the former US Navy captain, who is now a member of Congress, in an interview on MSNBC’s Good morning, Joe in response to comments Trump made at a campaign rally in New Jersey on August 16.

The Republican presidential candidate compared the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award a president can bestow, with the U.S. military’s highest award, the Congressional Medal of Honor. He said the former is better “because everyone who receives the Congressional Medal of Honor is a soldier.”

“They are either in very bad condition because they have been hit by bullets so many times or they are dead,” he added.

Kelly made his feelings clear during the conversation with moderators Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski: “A man who did not want to serve in the U.S. military makes up some excuse like bone spurs because he fled the Vietnam War. And he obviously does not understand us, he does not understand the members of our society who served in the military.”

Kelly was referring to Trump’s diagnosis of bone spurs, which was reportedly a favor from a doctor for Trump’s father, Fred Trump. He is still criticized to this day for the medical delay. According to Sky News, Trump avoided service five times.

Newsweek has emailed a representative for Trump seeking comment.

“The concept of putting something before yourself is completely foreign to Donald Trump,” Kelly said.

Kelly was also asked about the “attacks” on Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and his military service.

Republicans have criticized Walz’s military service. Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance accused the governor of “stolen valor” because he allegedly “abandoned” his unit by retiring before it was deployed to Iraq in 2006.

“I’ve known him for a long time, since 2007,” Kelly said. “He’s a patriot, he served in the National Guard for 24 years, he’s a retired member of the Guard and rose to the highest rank in the enlisted ranks.”

He further described Walz as a “good friend” and said that Trump “doesn’t understand” Walz.

Kelly added that he would “expect” Vance to understand Walz. He said he was “very disappointed” in the comments Vance made about Walz and his ministry.

Newsweek has emailed a representative for Kelly seeking comment.

Kelly has served as a Democratic senator for Arizona since 2020. He won the seat previously held by the late Republican Senator John McCain in a special election and was re-elected in 2022. He was previously a potential vice presidential candidate for Harris. He flew combat missions during the Gulf War and became a NASA astronaut in 1996, taking part in four space shuttle missions.

Kelly’s career in public service was also shaped by his commitment to gun control, particularly after his wife, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, survived an assassination attempt in 2011.

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