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John McCain launches thinly veiled attack on Donald Trump's Vietnam War deferment for bone spurs
When John McCain took a swipe at rich Americans avoiding the Vietnam war draft with a medical diagnosis of “bone spurs” his target was obvious.
One of Donald Trump’s five deferments was the result of a doctor’s letter stating that he suffered from bone spurs in his feet.
The veteran senator may not have named the president as his target, but his comments suggest they were a long delayed retort to Mr Trump’s mockery of Mr McCain’s war record.
In an interview broadcast by C-Span on Sunday to mark the 50th anniversary of being shot down over North Vietnam, followed by spending the next five and a half years as a prisoner of war, Mr McCain launched his latest round of attacks on the president.
“One aspect of the conflict, by the way, that I will never ever countenance is that we drafted the lowest-income level of America, and the highest-income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur,” said the former Navy pilot.
Mr Trump derided his rival’s service in 2015 when he was running for the party’s presidential nomination. He said Mr McCain wasn’t a war hero, adding: "I like people who weren't captured.”
He was also accused of physically mocking Mr McCain for disabilities inflicted during his captivity.
Mr Trump managed to avoid the Vietnam draft five times. On four occasions he was given deferments to attend college and has said a temporary bone spur on his heel - essentially a calcium deposit causing a protrusion on the heel bone - provided the fifth.
For his part, Mr McCain has emerged as one of Mr Trump’s leading critics within the Republican Party, derailing a bill to overturn Obamacare and last week warning Americans against a wave of nationalism overtaking the country.
The 81-year-old senator was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour this year and appears intent on holding the president to account for as long as he can.
He has condemned Mr Trump’s stance on immigration, criticised his handling of racist violence, and warned him of the dangers of getting too close to the Russian president Vladimir Putin.