Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Rosa Parks… Now, perhaps the Trump administration may award ex-DOGE staffer Edward Coristine, “Big Balls,” the highest U.S. honor for a civilian, the Medal of Freedom. Indeed, Coristine was senselessly and savagely beaten during a carjacking this summer, and no one deserves to be on the receiving end of such senseless violence. That being said, there is very little heroic about being the victim of a violent crime (As I was in San Francisco’s Mission District almost 30 years ago), and such victimhood is nothing on which to base what is supposed to be a lifetime achievement award, or at least daring bravery – if nothing else. This is especially the case when it was just over four years ago that many Capitol police officers were also tragically beaten (One died of an attack-induced stroke later that night), and yet their assailants are considered heroes enjoying a full pardon from the man who has set about the militarization of Washington with the stated purpose of decreasing crime in an area in which crime had already been in serious decline.

As reported by the Daily Beast:

An ex-DOGE staffer known as “Big Balls” could end up receiving the highest civilian honor in the United States, placing him in the company of luminaries such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa. Two weeks after 19-year-old Edward Coristine was viciously assaulted during a carjacking in Washington D.C., the White House says it would consider giving the administration official a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his bravery.

Karoline Leavitt invited MAGA pundit Benny Johnson to ask the first question, as has become customary under the new administration. After talking about his own personal experience with violence in D.C., thanking Leavitt for Trump’s actions and slamming Democrats, Johnson asked if the president would consider Coristine for a Presidential Medal of Freedom in view of his “heroic actions just a few blocks from this building.”

“Perhaps it’s something he would consider,” Leavitt replied. Last week, Republican Senator Mike Lee even posted a creepy AI-generated clip of Trump placing the Medal of Freedom around Coristine’s neck.

Even if one could support DOGE’s radical and reckless cuts to the federal government, there is nothing heroic about simply doing a job for which he was paid. Nor is there any indication that the attack was at all related to his work for the government, and so that comes up woefully short of any pre-conceived justification for the medal. It is not appropriate and further works to cheapen the country, further dividing it up between the “good guys” – those who support Trump, versus everyone else. The award would not have gone to a Democratic staffer on Capitol Hill.

Coristine is the victim of a violent assault, but is also more fortunate than some in that he will hopefully make a quick and complete recovery. Even considering an award, however, makes the incident that much more of an assault on the nation’s traditions, a bipartisan patriotic view of our nation’s greatest heroes.

It is impossible to imagine a scenario in which a staunch Trump political opponent would receive any award. To the extent that the administration may deem “Big Balls” as worthy of one, the question becomes whether anyone would even want it now that it’s been rendered nearly meaningless.

Nothing matters to this administration except those who most vocally support it.

**** Please follow me now on Bluesky

God Bless: I can be reached at [email protected] and also on X at @JasonMiciak. 

Zoomers, we are always in need of donations. We work hard to get you analysis that you will not find in the mainstream media, but all media have been hit hard since the big companies have gobbled up and monopolized commentary. Anything you can spare will be immensely appreciated. And thank you to all who have donated generously already. Ursula

Help keep the site running, consider supporting.

Support the site with a subscription today and see no more ads!

Go Ad-free Now!

6 COMMENTS

  1. “Coristine is the victim of a violent assault, but is also more fortunate than some in that he will hopefully make a quick and complete recovery.”

    I’m sorry but I do NOT believe any of it. Where’s the “woman” from the story? You know, the “girlfriend” in one account or the “damsel in distress” in another that was supposedly there? And how is it that he just happened to have a “friend” ready to record the “results” of his “beating” but who was NOT willing to help fend or fight off the “attackers?”

    I want the hospital records proving and detailing the injuries.

    Otherwise, I believe the whole thing was faked. I mean, the timing of the attack’s being made public and Drumpf’s sudden decision to make the threat to call out the National Guard (which in 2021, he said he COULD NOT DO to stop *his* bunch of criminals) to “end” crime in DC followed by his doing so (although it seems the focus is now supposed to be on getting rid of the homeless in DC). This is all just too feeling staged.

    • Interesting take. When I wrote about this I noted in the first twelve hours or so they tried to ‘paint a picture’ of him ‘running’ to some woman’s aid. That fell apart I guess because it got out she was his girlfriend and there was plenty of evidence the two of them were at or almost at the car when the teens approached and tried to take it. At most he managed to shove his girlfriend in the car, I guess so she’d have a chance to call 911.

      Yet as you note HER name and account of what happened seem to be in the wind. I also looked at the photo of him sitting shirtless in the aftermath. I saw a lot of blood smears but no welts or bruises starting to form and the dude has pretty pale skin so you’d think if he’d suffered a beatdown he’d be marked up more. I think I recall one cut on his head but I’m not sure. And head wounds do tend to bleed a LOT so it’s possible he’d have gotten blood smears even from a single head wound. You’d think however if his shirt had been ripped off in an attack it too would have been shown as additional ‘evidence’ of the ‘violence’ of the attack.

      Add it all up and you may well be correct and the thing was staged. One other thing – LE showed up almost immediately, and all but two of the group managed to get away. Hmmmmm. Also, taking the account of him shoving his mysterious girlfriend into the car look at the guy. Hardly a physical specimen or athlete. HE might have hit his head on the corner of the door!

    • I refuse to be that cynical yet. One can still go overboard with respect to seeing a conspiracy. I am not saying I would be surprised if it turned out to be staged, it’s not like they’re above it. But for now, I am perfectly content to say it was a very unfortunate thing that shouldn’t happen to him or anyone – we cannot tolerate violence. That also being said, there’s nothing to this that the Washington PD cannot handle. Unless they plan to lockdown the entire city as a military encampment, some things are going to happen. They might try to lock it down but that also comes with some risk.

      I think they are feeling their way as it goes. I don’t have any reason to think that it’s just staged. I suspect he got beat up in the early morning hours and that’s just how it goes. Some don’t come out the other end. And they caught his attackers. Now the REACTION to it was probably planned all along, simply looking for a pretense at some point, probably a homicide. They would’ve used anything and this happened to be the best opportunity.

      If proven otherwise, I’ll note it then. For now, that’s a dark hole to dig into without a little more to go on.

  2. I got it! I’ll include a photo of “Big Balls” to make my point but let me describe him. He’s got a funky haircut – shaved a few inches above the ears and a “muffin top” mop of tight curly hair. Or put another way a head shaped like… A MUSHROOM! You can guess where I’m going next. He’s shorter than average and if not skinny it’s fair to say he’s got a less than average physique for someone his age. More like a twelve or thirteen year old who’s late developing.

    So, add all that up and what have you got? A punk with ungodly power over our lives who’s basically shaped like a human mushroom. As in similar to the example chosen by Stormy Daniels from a set of various sized/shaped ones out of a selection of a dozen or so. He’s Trump’s ‘DOGE Dick!’

    Dammit, I can’t attach the file but a day or two ago I posted an article with the pic I wanted to include here. Scroll back through older posts and you can see it.

  3. A medal handed out by a nazi traitor has as much gravitas as a paper towel with my puppy’s shit rolled up inside. Freedom? Now that’s rich.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

The maximum upload file size: 128 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, text, archive, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here