In an interview with C-SPAN on Sunday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said that they were going to ask every American to serve and that every American should serve. He was referring to encouraging Americans to enlist in the military in general. But during the interview, Sen. McCain also referred to Donald Trump dodging the draft into the Vietnam War. The Arizona senator said that during the draft, Americans at the lowest income level were being drafted while those in a higher income bracket were able to find a doctor that would diagnose them with Bone Spurs.
While McCain didn't mention Trump by name, it was clear to anyone that he was referring to the President.
Trump's bone spur claims
Most believe Senator McCain was referring to Trump because it's widely known that when Donald Trump was 22 and eligible to be drafted for the Vietnam War, he had been diagnosed with bone spurs in his heels. During an interview last year with the New York Times, then-candidate Trump said that his doctor had given him "a very strong letter on the heels." The Times asked for a copy of the letter which he said he would look for, but the candidate's spokesman never responded to repeated requests by the media outlet for copies of the letter.
One article by the Times published last year titled: "Donald Trump's Draft Deferments: Four for College, One for Bad Feet," said that the Selective Service records which are in the National Archives do not specify Trump's medical condition.
And according to the article, not only did Trump dodge the draft but he's also been dodging reporters and questions about the condition, often not being able to recall when the spurs had healed up. The article refers to one interview with a reporter who said that Trump showed him a bump on one of his heels, which the now-President didn't remember was on which foot.
Soldier's death drew attention to Trump
The issue of service made headlines over the past week with President Trump being criticized for failing to console the widow of a fallen soldier. Rep. Frederica Wilson said in recent weeks when Trump called Sgt. La David Johnson's widow on the phone, he told her that the soldier knew what he had signed up for.
She also said that the president didn't refer to the soldier by name which was verified by Sgt. Johnson's widow this week.
At the very best, Myeshia Wilson said that President Trump seemed to be struggling to get his name until he finally said it. This would assert that he was scrambling to get the name as he was talking with her on the phone. The response from the White House over the call was to attack the Rep., accusing her of politicizing the issue. Trump's chief of staff John Kelly also came out to target the congresswoman as well as right-wing media circles. McCain had been asked about his comments which he said was specifically over how wrong it was for higher-income Americans to get out of military service over those with lower incomes.