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.
-
5 bullseye cartoons about the reasons for mass shootingsCartoons Artists take on gun worship, a price paid, and more
-
Lisa Cook and Trump's battle for control the US FedTalking Point The president's attempts to fire one of the Federal Reserve's seven governor is represents 'a stunning escalation' of his attacks on the US central bank
-
'Three Pads' Rayner: a housing hypocrite?Talking Point As real estate moguls go, the Deputy PM is 'hardly Donald Trump'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revoltSpeed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich throwerSpeed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodusSpeed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official saysSpeed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judgesSpeed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policingSpeed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa CookSpeed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportationSpeed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
