Trump was granted five draft deferments during the Vietnam War

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Donald Trump received five deferments from the military draft during the Vietnam War, according to a new report, including one medical exemption for a problem with his heels.

Trump was granted one medical and four educational deferments, which kept him out of the conflict, The New York Times reported Monday.

{mosads}The Republican presidential nominee registered with the Selective Service System, which is used for the draft, after he turned 18 in 1964. Trump received his first educational deferment the following month, the report said, while starting his undergraduate studies at Fordham University in the Bronx.

Trump then transferred to Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, receiving additional deferments during his sophomore, junior and senior years. He graduated in the spring of 1968.

The fall after he graduated, Trump was granted a 1-Y medical deferment due to a foot condition.

“I had a doctor that gave me a letter — a very strong letter on the heels,” he told The New York Times.

“They were [heel] spurs,” Trump said of his condition. “You know, it was difficult from the long-term walking standpoint. [It was] not a big problem, but it was enough of a problem.”

Heel spurs are bone protrusions caused by calcium buildup. The condition is typically treated through stretching, orthotics and, at times, surgery.

“Over a period of time, it healed up,” Trump said.

Trump kept his 1-Y status until 1972, when he became 4-F and was permanently disqualified from military service in Vietnam, the Times reported. Last year, Trump said he feels “a little bit guilty” for having never served in Vietnam.

His military deferments are getting new scrutiny following his feud with the parents of a Muslim U.S. soldier who died in Iraq.

Khizr Khan, Capt. Humayun Khan’s father, challenged Trump’s treatment of Muslims during last week’s Democratic National Convention.

“Go look at the graves of the brave patriots who died defending America,” he said on July 28 in Philadelphia. “You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities.

“You have sacrificed nothing and no one,” Khizr Khan added of the GOP’s presidential nominee. “We can’t solve our problems by building walls and sowing division.”

Trump fired back by questioning why Khan’s wife, Ghazala Khan, stood by his side at the convention without speaking. She said she chose not to because talking about her son is difficult. 

Tags Donald Trump Military Politics Republicans Vietnam War

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