Trump Received Four Student Draft Deferments And A Medical Exemption
Born in June 1946, Trump was also a member of the generation called up to serve in the Vietnam War. Like Biden, he never did.
He received four student draft deferments while an undergraduate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
And in the spring of 1968, he, too, received the “1-Y” classification for bone spurs in his heels, per The New York Times.
How Deferments Protected Donald Trump From Serving In Vietnam
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Donald Trumps public feud with the Muslim family of a fallen soldier has drawn attention to the businessmans own record of military service.
Khizr Khan delivered an emotional speech at the Democratic National Convention in which he told the story of his son, Humayun, who was killed in 2004 by a car bomb while serving in Iraq. In his remarks, Khan, with his wife at his side, said the Republican presidential nominee had sacrificed nothing for his country.
And in a response condemned by both Democrats and Republicans, Trump criticized the Gold Star parents and insisted his own sacrifices included creating jobs and helping establish a Vietnam War memorial in New York.
But for all of Trumps boasting about his support from veterans, he has never served in the military, thanks to a string of deferments that enabled him to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War.
Heres a look at what happened:
Egged On By His Father The Us President Began Expressing Contempt For Americans Who Fight In Wars As Far Back As High School His Classmates Say
Michael HirshForeign Policy
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Perhaps no one was less surprised last week when it was reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had called American war dead losers and suckers than his former high school classmate George M. White.
The 74-year-old retired Army veteran was Trumps superiorthe first captain, or highest-ranking cadetin Trumps 1964 graduating class at the New York Military Academy. White said he witnessed up close Trumps contempt for military service, discipline, and tradition, as well his ungoverned sense of entitlement, all helped along by his father Fred Trumps generous donations to the school.
No, those remarks absolutely didnt surprise me. In my dealings with him he was a heartless, obnoxious son of a bitch, White told me in an interview over the weekend.
Perhaps no one was less surprised last week when it was reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had called American war dead losers and suckers than his former high school classmate George M. White.
The 74-year-old retired Army veteran was Trumps superiorthe first captain, or highest-ranking cadetin Trumps 1964 graduating class at the New York Military Academy. White said he witnessed up close Trumps contempt for military service, discipline, and tradition, as well his ungoverned sense of entitlement, all helped along by his father Fred Trumps generous donations to the school.
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Generals can recommend whether or not to go to war, but the decision is ultimately made by politicians on both sides who are so distanced from the realities of combat that they cant even bother to pay respect to those who give their lives in service to those decisions. The people who shoulder the most risk have the least control. The people who die dont make the decisions that lead to their deaths.
The absolute least that the politicians who make those decisions can do is to respect the men and women who risk their lives to carry them out.
Related:
About Half Of Veterans Say The Policies Of The Trump Administration Have Made The Military Stronger
In thinking about the policies of the Trump administration, a sizable share of veterans say that they have made the U.S. military stronger. About one-quarter say his policies have made the military weaker, and 28% say they have not made much of a difference. By comparison, the general public is less upbeat about the impact Trumps policies have had on the military. About three-in-ten Americans say these policies have made the military stronger, and 27% say they have made it weaker. Four-in-ten Americans say they havent made much difference.
Among veterans, those who served before 9/11 are more likely than those who served after to say that Trump administration policies have made the military stronger . This pattern holds when controlling for differences in partisanship between the two groups.
Still, many veterans say the president has not listened to military leaders enough when it comes to national security decisions. Nearly half of veterans say Trump listens to military leaders too little. A similar share says Trump listens about the right amount . The public is somewhat more likely than veterans to say the president listens to military leaders too little and less likely to say the right amount . Just 6% of Americans and 4% of veterans say Trump listens to military leaders too much.
Many veterans question Trumps ability to make wise decisions about the use of force, nuclear weapons
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What Happens To Transgender People Who Already Serve In The Military
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how it will address transgender servicemembers that already openly serving in the military.
We will continue to work closely with the White House to address the new guidance provided by the Commander-in-Chief on transgender individuals serving in the military, Pentagon spokesperson Capt. Jeff Davis said in a statement, according to ABC News.We will provide revised guidance to the Department in the near future.
Republican Veterans Are More Approving Of Trumps Military Policies Than Republicans Overall
Veterans are divided over some of Trumps specific military policies, but in each case, they are more supportive than the general public. Veterans also have a more positive view than Americans overall about Trumps approach in dealing with North Korea, Russia and Americas NATO allies.Even after accounting for differences in partisanship between the groups, Republican veterans are generally more supportive of Trumps positions than Republicans overall.
A majority of veterans approve of sending troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to deal with migrants coming to the U.S., including 42% who strongly approve of this policy. The public is more evenly split: 47% approve and 50% disapprove.
Veterans are more evenly divided in their views on the U.S. withdrawing from the Iran nuclear weapons agreement: 53% approve of this decision, while 46% disapprove. Roughly four-in-ten veterans strongly approve of this policy. Among the public, a majority disapproves of the U.S. withdrawing from the Iran agreement, while 40% approve of this move. Veterans are twice as likely as the public to say they strongly approve of this policy .
Veterans are divided on how Trump is dealing with Russia, while Americans overall disapprove
A majority of veterans approve of Trumps dealings with North Korea , while 40% disapprove. Among all Americans, more disapprove than approve of Trump in this regard .
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Mattis From Admiration To Insults
Before taking office, Trump met with Mattis at Bedminster in December 2016 and brought him before the media, taking great delight in the generals Mad Dog nickname, and pronounced him right out of central casting.
But he soured on the general and others for not bending to his will on a range of issues, at home and abroad. Mattis disagreed with Trumps berating of U.S. allies, his disparagement of NATO and his abrupt pullout in Syria, which went against the advice of his military.
Trump has since branded Mattis the worlds most overrated general.
The first signs of troubled relationships with the generals came early in his presidency.
In the summer of 2017, Trump was in the Situation Room talking about U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan with Mattis, then-national security adviser H.R. McMaster – an Army general – and then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and others.
The generals had a troop increase request and thought they were going to stick it up under Trumps nose and he was going to sign it, a former senior administration official told Reuters.
Trump raised all sorts of questions about the request. A meeting due to last 20 minutes went on for two hours.
He just ripped them, the generals, everybody. Why are we doing this, when can we get out, what does victory look like? It was really uncomfortable, the former official said.
After the meeting broke up, Trump asked them for real options.
World War Ii By Country
Almost every country in the world participated in World War II. Most were neutral at the beginning, but only a relatively few nations remained neutral to the end. The Second World War pitted two alliances against each other, the Axis powers and the Allied powers the Soviet Union served 35 million men, with the U.S serving 16 million, Germany 13 million, the British Empire 8.5 million and Japan 6 million. With millions serving in other countries, an estimated 300 million soldiers saw combat. It is generally estimated that a total of 72 million people died, with the lowest estimate being 40 million dead and the highest estimate being 120 million dead. The leading Axis powers were Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan and the Kingdom of Italy while the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union were the “Big Three” Allied powers.
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In An Investigation By The New York Times It Was Found That Trump Himself Had Been Deferred From Getting Drafted And Serving In The Military Five Times
At last weeks Democratic National Convention, Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq, posed a question to Donald Trump: Have you read the Constitution? Pakistan-born Khan attacked the billionaire businessman saying that if it was up to Trump, his son would have never been American or served in the military. You have sacrificed nothing, he told Trump.
Days later, The New York Times in the course of an investigation, has reported that Trump himself had been deferred from getting drafted and serving in the military five times four for education, once for a bad heel. In 1968, Trump was reported to be in the best of his health and was eligible to be drafted in the US military after his graduation from college. However, in that year, a bone spurs in his heels a problem that caused a part of the bone in the heel to grow out caused a deferment. When this diagnosis was produced in front of the medical officer, Trump got the much desired 1-Y medical deferment which exempted him from military service temporarily. This was during the Vietnam war, when a huge number of American troops were being sent to Southeast Asia.
What Are The Various Classifications To Determine Fitness For Service
These are the various classifications that the military uses to determine whether an individual is fit for military service or not.
The 1-A classification indicates that the individual is fit for military service.
The 1-AM classification indicates that the individual is a medical specialist.
Theyre also fit for service, albeit in a medical capacity in the field.
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Legal Affairs And Bankruptcies
FixerRoy Cohn served as Trump’s lawyer and mentor for 13 years in the 1970s and 1980s. According to Trump, Cohn sometimes waived fees due to their friendship. In 1973, Cohn helped Trump countersue the United States government for $100 million over its charges that Trump’s properties had racial discriminatory practices. Trump and Cohn lost that case when the countersuit was dismissed and the government’s case went forward. In 1975, an agreement was struck requiring Trump’s properties to furnish the New York Urban League with a list of all apartment vacancies, every week for two years, among other things. Cohn introduced political consultant Roger Stone to Trump, who enlisted Stone’s services to deal with the federal government.
As of April 2018, Trump and his businesses had been involved in more than 4,000 state and federal legal actions, according to a running tally by USA Today.
While Trump has not filed for personal bankruptcy, his over-leveraged hotel and casino businesses in Atlantic City and New York filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection six times between 1991 and 2009. They continued to operate while the banks restructured debt and reduced Trump’s shares in the properties.
Trump’s Attacks Put Military In ‘presidential Campaign Minefield’
Trump “was constantly undermining civilian-military relations around the bounds of what is acceptable behavior,” says Peter Feaver, a Duke University professor who focuses on those relations. “This, combined with the fact that he has a tin ear for all things in the civil-military domain, means that Trump did lots of damage to this crucial pillar of the republic.”
Aaron O’Connell agrees. He was a Marine Corps officer who served in Afghanistan and in Obama’s National Security Council.
The “biggest thing,” says O’Connell, who now teaches at the University of Texas, is Trump’s pardons for Navy Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher and Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance. Both were convicted of war crimes by the military.
“They were not close calls on the merits,” O’Connell says. “Why get involved with this? It only hurts the military, hurts the rule of law and hurts the image of the U.S. as a law-abiding nation.”
Trump also tested civilian-military relations by urging that active-duty troops be used to quell street protests following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police last year.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper strongly and publicly opposed such a move, saying it was a job for local police and possibly the National Guard. Trump soured on Esper after that, and their relationship never survived. Months later, Esper was “terminated” by Trump in a tweet.
But O’Hanlon sees Trump’s overall legacy as relatively positive.
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Lafayette Square Protester Removal And Photo Op
On June 1, 2020, federal law enforcement officials used batons, rubber bullets, pepper spray projectiles, stun grenades, and smoke to remove a largely peaceful crowd of protesters from Lafayette Square, outside the White House. Trump then walked to St. John’s Episcopal Church, where protesters had set a small fire the night before he posed for photographs holding a Bible, with senior administration officials later joining him in photos. Trump said on June 3 that the protesters were cleared because “they tried to burn down the church and almost succeeded”, describing the church as “badly hurt”.
Religious leaders condemned the treatment of protesters and the photo opportunity itself. Many retired military leaders and defense officials condemned Trump’s proposal to use the U.S. military against anti-police brutality protesters. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General , later apologized for accompanying Trump on the walk and thereby “creat the perception of the military involved in domestic politics.”
