John McCain Rips ‘Bone Spur’ Vietnam Deferments, in Apparent Trump Jab
Oct 23 2017, 7:48 am ET
Sen. John McCain seemed to hit President Donald Trump during an interview about the Vietnam War on Sunday, criticizing Americans from “the highest income level” who were able to obtain draft deferments for ailments like a “bone spur.”
Trump received a draft deferment in 1968 for bone spurs in his heels.
“One aspect of the conflict, by the way, that I will never ever countenance is that we drafted the lowest income level of America and the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur,” McCain said during an interview with C-SPAN that aired Sunday .
“That is wrong. That is wrong. If we’re going to ask every American to serve, every American should serve,” the six-term Arizona Republican added.
McCain, who is fighting brain cancer, did not mention Trump by name during the interview.
Trump, however, was reported to have received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War: Four for education and one for having had bone spurs in his feet.
McCain, on the other hand, spent several years as a prisoner-of-war in North Vietnam after his plane was shot down in 1967.
His comments over the weekend marked the latest exchange in a long-running feud between the two men that kicked off in July 2015, when Trump said McCain was “not a war hero.”
“He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured,” Trump said.
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Trump is trumped -- AGAIN.
Hmmmmm - John, wonder if you remember the three times you confessed to the North Vietnamese for your "forced" behavior and who you derided the U. S. while you were in prison camp? I remember 'cause I heard your confessions on AFR while in 'Nam.
You gotta lot of room to talk McCain.
Bone spurs? Couldn't the Army made him a special helmet to accomadate them?
Heck - he could have made his own helmet if he had really wanted to enlist.
[Huh - but I thought they were talking about his head.. never mind]
With Donald Trump in the military, our side would have been ensured a higher casualty rate. It's best to leave him on the tennis court / golf course / baseball field to nurse his bone spurs, then to expose real men to his incompetence and risk their lives.
I am beginning to think that individuals want the current President to go off on a twitter tangent ......... the president was not mentioned by name - is that the new thing (?) dance around everything that everyone already knows who it is directed at - yet doing so without saying Beetlejuice?
Ugghhh! Grow up Senator McCain, I for one think you are better than that ... a leader that does not need to grand stand on petty subject matter - do your job, stay above the fray ..... and please look into Niger ..
Thanks!
For those that were around in the 60s and early 70s, there was a draft, so your options were:
1. Hopefully your draft number didn't get called
2. Enlist
3. Get a commission (generally requiring a 4 year degree at an accredited University)
4. Get some kind of deferment.
When I joined the service, the first thing you did was to go through a full medical screening and if they found things wrong with you they would disqualify you from certain jobs or bar you from service. There were countless people getting deferments form every walk of life, there were also those that got a deferment for education (recall Bill Clinton?). Then there were those that ran off to Canada-they were pardoned after Vietnam and invited back home. All of this was pretty much acceptable behavior to the American Public in general back in the day of the draft.
Was McCain posturing and trying to make the President look bad? Maybe. What was acceptable back then is not today, is the underlying message McCain is trying to push.
Spikegary, you left off: - 5. Land one of the limited spots in the National Guard.
Back in those days almost none of the Guards were called to serve over seas so they got to wear the uniform and build their resume, (Like President Bush), without running the same risk as the general rank and file did.
I'm more inclined to believe that McCain is putting Trump into the Chicken Hawk camp with his remarks.
All of President Trumps saber rattling with Korea and Iran added to his seeming lack of empathy for the death of the 4 solders in Niger and his life long history of dodging National service probably has an scared, old war veteran like McCain grinding his teeth in personal contempt for Trump.
Correct on number 5. The Guard could be called up, though it wasn't for whatever reasons the various administrations deemed it not to be. Same with the Reserves. Though both Guard and Reserves have been pulling lots of active duty deployment time for the past 25-26 years
As to the rest? Speculation.
You seemed to pass over the five deferments tRump got until a medical was secured for bone spurs that never seemed to give him any issues and only appeared when his deferments were getting done. I wonder how many soldiers serving in country would have liked to buy a bone spur medical.
I don't see Sen. McCain's point in his feud with Pres. Trump other than his pride was hurt by what the Pres. said at the time about his imprisonment in Viet Nam. However, he has said enough and done enough through his mouth as Trump has through his tweets. The only other thing I can see happening is that McCain is still bitter about losing the bid for president whereas someone like Trump won.
"Bone spurs" are a big deal when being drafted as a "foot" solider.
"Bone spurs" are a big deal when being drafted as a "foot" solider.
“I was always the best athlete. Something that nobody knew about me. …I was the best baseball player in New York when I was young. … But I also knew that it was very limited, because in those days you couldn’t even make a lot of money playing baseball. … Everybody wanted me to be a baseball player. But I was good in other sports too. I was good in wresting, I was very good at football. I was always the best at sports.”
- Donald Trump
Of course, he is the best at everything....he thinks!
However, the Army didn't like his bone spurs!
Acutally - consider what would have happened if he had been accepted after he graduated from college.
How could Trump in the military have been a good thing.