Kathrine Frich
People online are already laughing.
Everyone loves a shiny trophy on the shelf.
Most people have to wait for a real committee to hand one over, though.
On the campaign trail this week, one politician decided it was much faster to just invent a prize on the spot.
Made-up honors
During a Thursday rally at Sioux Gateway Airport in Iowa, Republican House candidate Joe Mitchell handed President Donald Trump the “Man of the Century” award, according to the Irish Star.
The presentation happened right after the president complained to the crowd about being passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Oddly enough, the Irish Star notes that Moms for America already gave Trump a “Man of the Century Award” at Mar-a-Lago during its fourth annual ceremony.
Critics on X quickly pointed out that Mitchell’s trophy is not an actual prize. One user on the platform wrote, “Joe Mitchell just made up an award so he could give it to Trump on the spot. The flattery game is getting creative.”
Another commenter joked, “Move over George Washington and Abraham Lincoln,” while a third added, “Mitchell can taste what Trump had for breakfast.”
The awkward trophy moment came just a day after a speech in South Carolina, where the Irish Star reported that Trump seemed to confuse the Nobel Peace Prize with the Pulitzer Prize.
While insisting he deserved the Nobel for ending several wars, he also demanded recognition for his writing. “I didn’t get the Nobel Prize. I didn’t get the Pulitzer. I should have gotten the Pulitzer for writing, too,” Trump told the crowd.
He then attacked past winners who covered Russian election interference. “The people that got it shouldn’t have gotten it, you know? They got a Pulitzer Prize for their accurate and wonderful writing on the subject of Russia, Russia, Russia. But they had it wrong. They all had it wrong,” he said, as quoted by the Irish Star.
Midterms under pressure
Behind the stage props, Republicans face a tough reality ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. Although Trump won Iowa by 13 points two years ago, the Irish Star reports that the party is now fighting to hold the governor’s office, a Senate seat, and three House districts.
A Monday poll from Reuters and Ipsos showed Trump’s approval rating falling to 31 percent, the lowest of both his terms, with 68 percent of Americans unhappy with his economic leadership.
Voters in rural farming communities are feeling squeezed by rising costs and higher gas prices linked to the war in Iran. A Marist poll from October found that 42 percent of likely voters say their finances got worse over the past year.
Even so, Trump has mostly skipped over everyday money worries during stops in Kansas, South Carolina, and Iowa, promising instead that prices will drop once the conflict ends, according to the Irish Star.
