While in Louisville, Trump jokes that he wanted to award himself a Medal of Honor

President Donald Trump worked diligently to stick to the script Wednesday while speaking to a supportive audience at the AMVETS conference, but he still managed an off-the-teleprompter joke to a World War II hero in the crowd.

At one point, joined on stage by World War II veteran and Medal of Honor recipient Hershel "Woody" Williams, the president joked that he wouldn't mind a little hardware of his own.

"Nothing like the Medal of Honor,” Trump said on the stage at The Galt House. “I wanted one, but they told me I don't qualify, Woody. I said, 'Can I give it to myself anyway?' They said, 'I don't think that's a good idea.'"

Trump was smiling as he said it, and the crowd laughed.

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Williams is the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient to have fought in the battle of Iwo Jima. With only four riflemen to protect him, he wiped out seven pillboxes within four hours during the battle with explosives and a flamethrower, according to the Pentagon. 

Williams received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman on Oct. 5, 1945.

While Trump was in Louisville, the president signed a memo that expedited the process of discharging federal student loan debt for permanently and totally disabled veterans.

Rewatch Trump's full speech below.

Lucas Aulbach can be reached at laulbach@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4649 or on Twitter @LucasAulbach. Support strong local journalism and subscribe: www.courier-journal.com/lucasa.