Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
How did Trump's draft history compare to other public figures from the same era?
Executive summary
Donald Trump received five draft deferments during the Vietnam-era: four student (college) deferments and a final medical deferment for heel spurs; he was later entered in the 1968 lottery and drew a high number, 356 of 365 [1] [2]. Contemporary coverage and archival records show this pattern was common among privileged men of the era who had access to college deferments or favorable medical classifications; reporting and fact-checkers document both the record and controversy over the medical claim [3] [4] [5].
1. The record: what Trump’s Selective Service file shows
The National Archives and news organizations have published Trump’s Selective Service card and classification ledger showing four 2-S (student) deferments between 1964 and 1968 and a medical classification that moved him to 1-Y after a second physical in 1968; Selective Service documents are public and were obtained and summarised by multiple outlets [6] [1] [7]. The New York Times, Snopes, ABC and others report the sequence and note he was entered in the 1968 draft lottery and drew number 356 — a number that by itself would likely have prevented induction — but the records indicate the medical deferment preceded the lottery outcome [4] [2] [1].
2. How contemporaries and fact-checkers interpret that history
Fact-checkers and major outlets emphasize two points: (a) the documentary record confirms multiple deferments and the medical reclassification; and (b) Trump’s account at times emphasized the lottery number rather than the medical reclassification, creating public controversy over whether the bone-spurs claim or the high lottery number was decisive [7] [4] [5]. Snopes and PolitiFact treat the medical deferment as documented while also noting that many era records are incomplete and motivations (intent to avoid service) cannot be proven solely from paperwork [2] [5].
3. Comparing Trump to other public figures of the era
Reporting and historians note that many young men from affluent or well-connected families used legitimate pathways — college deferments, graduate school, or medical exemptions — to avoid frontline service; outlets explicitly compare Trump’s pattern to peers who similarly avoided combat because of deferments [3] [8]. Politicians accused of improper avoidance during the period — for example, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Bill Clinton — have appeared in the broader public debate about draft avoidance, indicating Trump’s case fits within a wider pattern of contentious draft-era histories for public figures [8].
4. What critics emphasize; what defenders emphasize
Critics focus on the perception of privilege and point to the medical deferment (bone spurs) as emblematic of unequal access to exemptions, citing reporting that calls the medical claim controversial and sometimes privately disputed [9] [4]. Defenders and some reporting emphasize that Trump’s records were consistent with the law at the time — he registered, obtained deferments that were common for students, and drew a high lottery number — and that many men avoided combat through the same legal mechanisms [1] [3].
5. Limits of the archival and journalistic record
Available sources say that many draft-era medical and personnel files were not preserved and that some details about the medical exam remain unclear; outlets caution the public record can document classifications and timing but not always the full medical or procedural context or personal intent [2] [7]. PolitiFact and Snopes note that motivations are not provable from paperwork, and The New York Times stressed apparent contradictions between Trump’s public statements and the Selective Service records [5] [7].
6. Broader historical context that matters for comparison
The Vietnam-era draft produced large numbers of student deferments and class-based disparities; historians and reporting place individual deferment histories against that structural backdrop — meaning a headline claim that a given public figure “dodged the draft” often compresses complex legal classifications and social privilege into a moral judgment [8] [3]. Contemporary reporting about Trump repeatedly situates his five deferments within that broader pattern of how draft policy operated for men with college access or influence [3] [4].
7. Bottom line for readers
The documentary record shows Trump received four college deferments and a medical reclassification before the 1968 lottery in which he drew a very high number; journalists and fact-checkers agree on those core facts but differ on the weight given to the medical claim versus the lottery outcome and on moral judgments about privilege [1] [4] [5]. Available sources do not provide definitive evidence of intent to evade service beyond the administrative record, and they place Trump’s experience within a common pattern for many public figures of the era [2] [3].