The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award was established in 1989 by the Kennedy family to honor those who demonstrate exceptional political bravery. A supposedly bipartisan panel reviews nominations each year and selects the winners — at least, that's how it's supposed to work. I don’t think it’s really been that way for a while, and this year’s winners are a true joke, and not in a funny way.
This year, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum announced that the 2026 award would be a tie between Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and, in what may be the most bewildering selection in the award's history, "the people of the Twin Cities, Minnesota."
Let's start with Powell.
The award committee praised him for “protecting” the independence of the Federal Reserve despite what it called "years of personal attacks and threats from the highest levels of government."
"Over multiple years, he faced repeated attacks from elected officials, partisan criticism from both sides of the aisle, and an investigation threatening criminal charges, yet he refused to let political forces dictate monetary policy," the committee wrote. So, facing criticism from elected officials is now worth a prestigious national award? Geez, by that standard, Donald Trump should win the award every year.
Then there's the second winner, and this is where things get genuinely absurd. The people of the Twin Cities were honored for their protests against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations — specifically, Operation Metro Surge. Let’s keep in mind.
The award committee gushed that "tens of thousands took to the streets to peacefully protest federal overreach and threats to immigrant families and constitutional protections, while others documented enforcement activity and alerted neighbors to federal agents' presence."
Excuse me? Peacefully protest? Agents were routinely attacked and assaulted. Renee Good attempted to run over an agent with her car, and Alex Pretti literally assaulted agents with a loaded gun. That’s what the committee includes as “peaceful protest?” Hogwash.
Recommended: Report Reveals That Democrats Are Plotting Against Chuck Schumer
Meanwhile, there are real profiles in courage hiding in plain sight that this committee couldn't be bothered to notice.
Take Elon Musk. He stepped away from running some of the most successful companies on the planet to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) because he believed cleaning up government waste was worth the personal cost. The result? Tesla dealerships became targets for vandalism and violence coast to coast, and Tesla owners of every political stripe found their vehicles keyed and vandalized by left-wing activists. Musk risked his public reputation to support Trump and do something to make the country better. That took courage.
Then there's Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), a Democrat who has shown more actual spine than his entire party. He voted for the Laken Riley Act. He's supported Israel and publicly opposed Hamas. He backed Operation Epic Fury. He’s criticized his party’s rabid anti-Trumpism. This past week, he cast a crucial vote to save Markwayne Mullin’s nomination as DHS Secretary. Every one of those positions put him at odds with his own party, and he made them anyway, and it may even cost him his career in the Senate.
If breaking with your base at personal and political cost isn't political courage, nothing is.
The Profile in Courage Award may have meant something once. It has honored genuine heroes — presidents, war veterans, lawmakers who sacrificed careers for principle. But somewhere along the way, it became a vehicle for celebrating resistance to one specific president and his agenda. That isn't honoring JFK's legacy. Not one bit.
