WASHINGTON, D.C. — Donald Trump’s first campaign event at his just-opened hotel in Washington, D.C. gave the GOP candidate the opportunity to honor Medal of Honor recipients. More than a dozen of them have endorsed him for president.

.@realDonaldTrump honoring Medal of Honor recipients: "They have a lot more courage than I do" @BreitbartNews pic.twitter.com/1D0IpufnmB — Alex Swoyer, esq. (@ASwoyer) September 16, 2016

Medal of Honor recipient Michael Thornton spoke after Trump introduced them, reminding everyone that “freedom is not free.”

“Mr. Trump has never failed in anything because he listens to his advisers,” he added. “For the last eight years, our president hasn’t listened to anybody…we need somebody that’s going to lead from the top like Donald Trump.”

More than a dozen Medal of Honor recipients have endorsed Trump for president. There are 77 current living Medal of Honor recipients, according to Fox News Research.

.@realDonaldTrump: "We have 17 Medal of Honor recipients and they've all endorsed me for president." pic.twitter.com/TLrgWwgkPs — FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) September 16, 2016

Another Medal of Honor recepient took a swipe at Hillary Clinton for calling millions of Americans who support Trump “deplorables.”

"Deplorables are also deployables" Medal of Honor winner standing by Trump — Noah Bierman (@Noahbierman) September 16, 2016

Trump thanked the generals and Medal of Honor recipients who are supporting him.

Trump’s advisor Gen. Michael Flynn spoke at the start of the event, holding a moment of silence for POW/MIA recognition day.

“We have a deficient of leadership in this country right now,” Flynn stated, saying Trump has the temperament of winning and that is what the country needs. “Temperament is actually a strength of his.”

As Breitbart News’s Charlie Spiering reports, CNN anchors appeared frustrated that Trump focused on the Medal of Honor recipients instead of addressing the news of the day — the birtherism controversy.