Donald Trump's confusing explanation for how he avoided the Vietnam draft
Donald Trump is pretty sure he got out of being drafted for the Vietnam War because of heel spurs, but he can't seem to remember which heel it was that gave him problems, when the injury finally cleared up, or how serious the heel spurs actually were.
While Trump's explanations for why he deferred the draft have varied — sometimes it's a lucky lottery number, sometimes it's a health problem despite his "astonishingly excellent" health — the Republican nominee assured The New York Times that it was, indeed, due to heel spurs. "I had a doctor that gave me a letter — a very strong letter on the heels," Trump said, though he never ended up providing that letter to the Times and could not remember the name of the doctor who had written it.
Trump explained the heel spurs, which are caused by a calcium build-up, were "not a big problem, but it was enough of a problem" to exempt him from the draft. At another point in the interview, he said the heels were a "minor" injury, but he also claimed the spurs made things "difficult from the long-term walking standpoint."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And after all that, the heel spurs weren't "enough of a problem" to appear in Trump's record of health released by his physician in December. Head over to The New York Times for more details on the murky circumstances surrounding Trump's Vietnam deferment.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Pakistan: Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’ takes chargeIn the Spotlight Asim Munir’s control over all three branches of Pakistan’s military gives him ‘sweeping powers’ – and almost unlimited freedom to use them
-
Codeword: December 6, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Sudoku hard: December 6, 2025The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
-
Boat strike footage rattles some lawmakersSpeed Read ‘Disturbing’ footage of the Sept. 2 attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat also shows the second strike that killed two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
-
Hegseth’s Signal chat put troops in peril, probe findsSpeed Read The defense secretary risked the lives of military personnel and violated Pentagon rules, says new report
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area