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Details on Donald Trump's bone spurs diagnosis and deferment process
Executive summary
The record shows Donald Trump received a medical deferment in 1968 for "bone spurs" in his heels that disqualified him from the Vietnam draft (reported in multiple outlets) and that in late 2018 the New York Times published reporting in which the daughters of a Queens podiatrist said their late father diagnosed Trump as a favor to Fred Trump; the Times and subsequent coverage note there is no paper trail that confirms those daughters' account [1] [2] [3]. Available sources do not produce medical records proving the diagnosis nor do they identify a definitive treating physician on Trump’s behalf [4] [1].
1. How the deferment is recorded: the basic documentary facts
Public reporting and government files show Trump received student deferments and then a medical classification that listed him as disqualified from service in 1968 with the reason tied to his feet—commonly reported as bone spurs—which resulted in his exemption from Vietnam-era military service [3] [1]. Contemporary news accounts and later biographies cite Trump’s own statements that a doctor provided “a very strong letter on the heels” that went to the draft board [2] [3].
2. The 2018 Times reporting and the podiatrist’s daughters’ claim
The New York Times reported that the two daughters of a now-deceased Queens podiatrist, Dr. Larry Braunstein (or Larry Braunstein in coverage), told the paper their father often claimed he had signed off on a bone-spur diagnosis for Trump as a favor to Trump’s father, Fred, who rented him office space; the daughters said they were not sure their father actually examined Trump and that the paper could not find documentary corroboration [1] [2]. Major outlets relayed that claim and emphasized the absence of medical records to independently confirm it [1] [3].
3. What supporters and critics have emphasized
Critics use the Braunstein account and Trump’s vague descriptions of his medical history to argue the deferment may have been obtained through influence or a convenient medical finding; outlets note that detractors point to Trump’s otherwise healthy college athleticism as raising questions about the severity or even existence of heel pathology [5] [6]. Conversely, supporters point to Trump’s own statements that a doctor wrote the letter and that bone spurs can be minor and temporary—an argument that the diagnosis was legitimate and that deferments were not rare in that era [2] [3].
4. Limits of the public record and what’s not in current reporting
Reporting repeatedly notes that no confirming medical records identifying the specific physician, the exact clinical findings, or any surgical treatment have been produced publicly; the Times and other outlets explicitly say they did not find paper evidence to back the daughters’ account [1] [4]. Available sources do not mention any contemporaneous draft-board paperwork naming Braunstein as the diagnosing physician or any hospital/surgical records showing treatment [1] [4].
5. Biographers’ and journalists’ on-the-ground checks
A biographer who interviewed Trump reported being shown Trump’s feet but not seeing obvious bone spurs, and sought but was not given medical documentation; commentary in long-form profiles and columnists has echoed the absence of verifiable records and noted public skepticism about the medical claim [6] [7]. News coverage has thus balanced the daughters’ allegation with the lack of corroboration and Trump’s own historical vagueness about details [1] [6].
6. The broader political and historical context
During the Vietnam era, deferments came from multiple grounds—educational and medical—and were sometimes controversial; critics of Trump have invoked that context to question equity in who served, while defenders note that medical exemptions were part of the system [3]. Campaigns and political opponents have used the bone-spurs story politically (e.g., campaign materials and commentary cited the mystery), and outlets have reported competing narratives—daughters’ allegations, Trump’s statements, and lack of records—without a single definitive resolution [5] [1].
7. Bottom line and what to watch for
The factual endpoints supported by reporting are: Trump received a draft deferment tied to bone spurs in 1968; the daughters of a Queens podiatrist later claimed their father issued the diagnosis as a favor to Fred Trump; and journalists were unable to find medical records to corroborate that claim [3] [1] [4]. Available sources do not mention any newly disclosed medical records, formal rebuttal from Trump naming the physician and producing paperwork, or documentary proof linking Braunstein definitively to the deferment beyond the daughters’ statements [1] [4]. Future reporting that produces contemporaneous medical or draft-board records would materially change the public record; until then, accounts remain a mix of first-person familial recollection and absence of documentary confirmation [1] [4].