The Veterans of Foreign Wars has long positioned itself as a nonpartisan organization that has nothing to do with electoral politics. Plenty of groups run campaign ads, issue endorsements, and create super PACs, but the VFW isn’t one of them.

With this in mind, it becomes all the more notable when the organization publicly criticizes a presidential candidate in an election year.

In 2020, for example, an Iranian missile strike left several dozen U.S. troops with traumatic brain injuries. Trump dismissed the importance of the injuries — he called them little more than “headaches” — prompting the Veterans of Foreign Wars to ask him to apologize for minimizing what had happened to the troops. Trump ignored the request.

Four years later, the GOP candidate insulted veterans again, prompting another VFW response. The New York Times reported:

The Veterans of Foreign Wars, a nonpartisan veterans organization, issued a statement condemning Donald Trump’s comments that the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a civilian award, was “much better” than the Medal of Honor because service members who receive the nation’s highest military honor are often severely wounded or dead. Criticizing the remarks as “asinine” and crass, the organization’s head, Al Lipphardt, said the remarks made him question whether Trump had the “seriousness and discernment” necessary to serve as commander in chief.

If you missed it, it was late last week when Trump spoke at an event on antisemitism at his Bedminster golf club and was introduced by Miriam Adelson, who plays a prominent role in GOP politics. As my MSNBC colleague Clarissa-Jan Lim explained, the former president, unprompted, reflected on the fact that he gave Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018, as part of an apparent gesture to thank the late GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson.

“That’s the highest award you can get as a civilian. It’s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version,” Trump said, referring to the Medal of Honor military award.

“It’s actually much better because everyone [who] gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead,” Trump added. “She gets it and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman. And they’re rated equal, but she got the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and she got it for — and that’s through committees and everything else.”

“Here tonight is a special man, someone beloved by millions of Americans who just received a Stage 4 advanced cancer diagnosis. This is not good news, but what is good news is that he is the greatest fighter and winner that you will ever meet,” the President said during his speech, thanking the radio host for his “decades of tireless devotion to our country.”

Trump, in announcing the award, highlighted Limbaugh’s charity work.

“I am proud to announce tonight that you will be receiving our country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump said, instructing the first lady to bestow the medal on Limbaugh.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 10 June 1944, near Vaubadon, France. As scouts were advancing across an open field, the enemy suddenly opened fire with several machine guns and hit one of the men. SSgt. DeFranzo courageously moved out in the open to the aid of the wounded scout and was himself wounded but brought the man to safety. Refusing aid, SSgt. DeFranzo reentered the open field and led the advance upon the enemy. There were always at least two machine-guns bringing unrelenting fire upon him, but SSgt. DeFranzo kept going forward, firing into the enemy and one by one the enemy emplacements became silent. While advancing he was again wounded, but continued on until he was within 100 yards of the enemy position and even as he fell, he kept firing his rifle and waving his men forward. When his company came up behind him, SSgt. DeFranzo, despite his many severe wounds, suddenly raised himself and once more moved forward in the lead of his men until he was again hit by enemy fire. In a final gesture of indomitable courage, he threw several grenades at the enemy machine-gun position and completely destroyed the gun. In this action SSgt. DeFranzo lost his life, but by bearing the brunt of the enemy fire in leading the attack, he prevented a delay in the assault which would have been of considerable benefit to the foe, and he made possible his company's advance with a minimum of casualties. The extraordinary heroism and magnificent devotion to duty displayed by SSgt. DeFranzo was a great inspiration to all about him and is in keeping with the highest traditions of the Armed Forces.