What medical deferments did Trump receive and were they legitimate?
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Executive summary
Donald Trump received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War era: four educational deferments while he was a student and one medical deferment for bone spurs (a 1‑Y medical classification later reported as 4‑F), according to Selective Service records reported by multiple outlets [1] [2]. Critics note missing contemporaneous medical records and conflicting accounts; allies and some reportage treat the deferments as lawful and typical for men of his background at the time [3] [4].
1. The record: five deferments, four academic and one medical
Primary documentation and contemporaneous reporting list five deferments: four college/student deferments while Trump attended Fordham and Wharton, and a later medical deferment tied to bone spurs in his heels that moved him into a 1‑Y medical classification (reported later as 4‑F), keeping him out of Vietnam [1] [2]. These facts are corroborated in multiple outlets that obtained Selective Service records or relied on them [1] [2].
2. What those classifications meant in practice
Education deferments (2‑S) were routinely granted to full‑time students in the 1960s and did not require unusual intervention; they postponed eligibility until graduation [5]. A 1‑Y medical deferment meant temporary unfitness for service; the 4‑F classification, reported in some accounts as the later status, meant not qualified for military service on medical grounds [2] [1]. Sources confirm Trump’s lottery number was high (356 of 365), which also reduced his odds of being called even absent medical changes [5].
3. The bone spurs claim: reporting and disputes
The medical deferment is commonly described as due to bone spurs in both heels, a diagnosis publicized during his campaigns and later recounted in biographies and press reports [5] [6]. Critics highlight the absence of contemporaneous medical records made public and point to testimony from Michael Cohen alleging Trump admitted inventing injuries to avoid service; Cohen testified he saw no medical records and was told there was no surgery [3]. Supporters and some reporting treat bone spurs as a legitimate, if minor, condition that could trigger a deferment [5].
4. Context: how common and how unequal were deferments?
Deferments were widespread during the Vietnam era and disproportionately benefited young men with college access or influential families; historians and reporting note this structural inequality in who avoided service [4] [7]. Business Insider and other outlets place Trump’s deferments in that broader pattern, arguing his path was not unique among wealthy or well‑connected men of the period [4].
5. Competing narratives and political use
Political opponents have turned the bone spurs story into an emblem of privilege and draft avoidance — Nikki Haley’s campaign and commentators used it for attack ads and messaging — while allies counter that Trump’s deferments were legally obtained and that similar deferments were routine for many future leaders [8] [4]. Testimony like Michael Cohen’s adds a personal accusation that conflicts with official Selective Service records; both lines of evidence circulate in reporting [3] [1].
6. What is confirmed, what remains unresolved
Confirmed: the five deferments and the record entries obtained and reported by outlets like The Smoking Gun and Snopes [1] [5]. Unresolved in available reporting: contemporaneous medical records publicly demonstrating the bone‑spur diagnosis and any surgical history are not provided in the cited sources; sources like Cohen assert none were produced to him [3] [1]. Available sources do not mention contemporaneous clinic notes or independent medical verification being released to the public [3] [1].
7. Journalistic takeaway: legality versus legitimacy
Legally, the deferments matched systems and classifications used in the 1960s; many men lawfully avoided service through student or medical deferments [5] [4]. Legitimacy in the court of public opinion is contested: critics argue the system’s inequities and missing medical documentation raise questions about how the medical deferment was obtained, while defenders stress that bone spurs are a recognized medical basis for deferment and that Trump’s paperwork shows the classifications he received [4] [3] [1].
Limitations: this analysis uses only the supplied reporting; it does not include any later-released medical records or private Selective Service files beyond what these sources cite.