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Did Donald Trump dodge the Vietnam draft and what were the official deferments listed?
Executive summary
Donald Trump received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War era: four student (educational) deferments while in college and a later medical deferment for bone spurs that made him 4‑F, which together meant he did not serve in Vietnam [1] [2] [3]. Reporting and commentary disagree on whether that record constitutes “dodging” the draft: some journalists and critics treat the pattern as typical of privileged men who avoided service, while others note the deferments were lawful and recorded with Selective Service [2] [3] [4].
1. What the official record says: five deferments, four educational and one medical
Contemporaneous Selective Service records and multiple news outlets report that Trump was classified with multiple student deferments while at Fordham and the Wharton School (four 2‑S student deferments) and later received a medical classification for bone spurs that made him 4‑F and ineligible for service [3] [1] [2]. News reports say he was briefly listed 1‑A in 1968 before the medical classification; after the bone‑spur finding he was not sent to Vietnam [5] [6].
2. How critics and supporters frame those deferments — “dodging” vs. “within the rules”
Critics argue the pattern reflects how young men from affluent or well‑connected families commonly avoided Vietnam service through college deferments and sympathetic medical findings, and they cite Trump’s bone‑spur exemption as emblematic of that inequity [2] [4]. Supporters and neutral observers note the deferments were official classifications under the Selective Service system and emphasize that many men obtained lawful deferments for education or medical reasons during that era [3] [6].
3. Testimony and controversy over whether the medical condition was genuine
Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for Trump, testified that Trump told aides he had fabricated injuries to avoid Vietnam; Cohen said Trump had acknowledged he “wasn’t going to Vietnam” and that there were no medical records showing surgery related to the bone spurs [7]. Other reporting stresses that many draft‑era medical records were not preserved, leaving the precise details of Trump’s 1968 medical classification unclear in surviving public files [6].
4. Broader context: draft deferments were common and often unequal
Scholars and historical coverage emphasize that during the Vietnam era millions of eligible men were deferred, exempted, or disqualified, and that educational and medical deferments disproportionately benefited those who could afford college or obtain favorable evaluations — a pattern critics say produced class‑based inequity in who served [2] [8]. Commentators and veterans (including Senator John McCain) have criticized the social fairness of that system even while some individuals receiving lawful deferments were defended [4].
5. What is undisputed and what remains contested in reporting
Available reporting is consistent that Trump had four student deferments and a subsequent bone‑spur medical deferment, totaling five [1] [3] [6]. What remains contested in public reporting is the extent to which the medical deferment was medically justified versus politically or socially advantaged: Cohen’s testimony alleges fabrication [7], while contemporary Selective Service entries and later accounts record the classifications without definitive preserved medical documentation [6] [3].
6. Why this matters politically and historically
Observers say the issue matters because perceptions of fairness in who bore the burdens of Vietnam shaped political debates for decades; opponents have used deferment histories to question character or patriotism, while defenders note legality and prevalence of deferments [2] [4]. The debate mixes factual records (the five deferments) with normative judgments about whether taking those deferments, when possible, was ethical — a judgment on which sources disagree [2] [7] [4].
Limitations and final note: reporting cites Selective Service records and testimony but notes many draft‑era medical files were not preserved, so precise medical documentation for Trump’s 1968 bone‑spur classification is not publicly available in full [6] [3].