A new report on Wednesday indicates that Donald Trump’s medical excuse for not serving in Vietnam – bone spurs in his heels – was actually just a lie written up as a favor to Trump’s father.
According to The New York Times, “[T]he diagnosis was granted as a courtesy to the elder Mr. Trump” and the president really “did not have a disqualifying foot ailment.”
In other words, like so much of his business and political career, Trump’s excuse for dodging military service in Vietnam was just another massive con job.
More from the report:
Now a possible explanation has emerged about the documentation. It involves a foot doctor in Queens who rented his office from Mr. Trump’s father, Fred C. Trump, and a suggestion that the diagnosis was granted as a courtesy to the elder Mr. Trump.
The podiatrist, Dr. Larry Braunstein, died in 2007. But his daughters say their father often told the story of coming to the aid of a young Mr. Trump during the Vietnam War as a favor to his father.
“I know it was a favor,” said one daughter, Dr. Elysa Braunstein, 56, who along with her sister, Sharon Kessel, 53, shared the family’s account for the first time publicly when contacted by The New York Times.
Elysa Braunstein said the implication from her father was that Mr. Trump did not have a disqualifying foot ailment. “But did he examine him? I don’t know,” she said.
Why the news is bad timing for Trump
The news that Donald Trump’s entire rationale for dodging military service in Vietnam was a sham comes at the worst possible time for the commander-in-chief.
On Wednesday, Trump was shamed into finally visiting U.S. troops in a combat zone in Iraq.
MSNBC’s Joy Reid explained how The New York Times report could conflict with Trump’s attempt to score some political points:
MSNBC’s Joy Reid explains why a report from The New York Times could overshadow Trump’s photo op in Iraq. #ctl #p2 #maddow pic.twitter.com/DYE1sq2dR4
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) December 27, 2018
At the end of the day, the revelation about Trump’s fake bone spurs only reminds the American people that this president is not the tough military leader he claims to be.
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