Posted on 10/23/2017 5:16:18 PM PDT by jazusamo
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is knocking the media, saying they are inaccurately portraying his recent comments about high-income Americans getting draft deferments from the Vietnam War over bone spurs as a slight against President Trump.
"By the way ... on this issue of people who got deferments from serving in Vietnam. I was against that 40 years ago, so for you people to say that I'm taking a shot at Trump over that, then you don't know my record," McCain said on Monday evening.
He added that deferments from the draft for the Vietnam War were "unfair and unequal. The rich people didn't serve and the poor people did. It has nothing to do with President Trump."
McCain's comments, which were unprompted, came after he was asked by The Hill if he was planning to attend the Senate GOP caucus lunch with Trump on Tuesday.
The current dust-up started when McCain argued, during a larger interview about the draft, that high-income individuals were able to unfairly get deferments.
“One aspect of the [Vietnam] 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,” McCain told C-SPAN 3 .
The comments were widely interpreted as a veiled swipe at Trump, who received five deferments from the draft during the Vietnam War, including one due to heel spurs, a bone protrusion caused by calcium buildup.
McCain said during an interview with ABC's "The View" on Monday morning that he doesn't think Trump is a "draft dodger" but that the system for deciding who served in the Vietnam War was unfair.
“I don’t consider him so much a draft dodger as I feel that the system was so wrong that certain Americans could evade their responsibilities to serve the country,” McCain said.
McCain has emerged as one of Trump's most consistent GOP critics.
The C-SPAN 3 interview came after Trump and McCain spent last week exchanging fire after the Arizona senator blasted "spurious nationalism” in a widely praised speech.
When asked about McCain's speech, Trump said: "People have to be careful, because at some point I fight back."
"I've faced greater challenges than this," McCain shot back.
Trump had earned GOP ire in 2015 when he mocked McCain's military service, saying, "I like people who weren’t captured."
McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down.
For every one draftee, two volunteers served in Viet Nam.
Twice?
watched him today...he really needs to get out of the public , and go enjoy the few months he has left. Hes got that weird thousand yard stare...
If so I don’t know what it was, especially in his latter years.
He definitely supported 0bama more than President Trump.
Trump paid 40 million in Federal taxes alone for ONE YEAR!!...hes more than done his fair share.
And cheated on the wife that waited on him when he was a POW, and who was badly injured in a car wreck.
Then carpetbagged to a seat in Arizona where he had no life connections. He married a rich chick to get ahead. With Kerry, he killed all efforts to resolve any POW/MIA issues so he could collect bucks from donors.
He took bribes with the Keating 5. He handed the election to Obama and told everyone they had nothing to fear from him. He helped launch ISIS and was photographer with AL-baghdadi. He conspired with modern-Nazi Banderists in Ukraine to launch the coup there. According to WikiLeaks, He took money from Hillary to work against Trump in the campaign.
McCain is a backstabbing treacherous SOB.
When the recruiters came to my high school (this I will never forget), they told us that if we signed up right then, we would go to Germany but if we waited to get drafted we would most likely go to SVN.
I don’t know details of who did what, I’d be glad to be corrected. Were draftees sent to Germany in large numbers?
Miserable SOB coward.
McCain is a typical lying Democrat and everyone knows it.
hashtags........ #WetStart/Songbird....#WhoseYourDaddy
I agree with your assessment...he has that “fading fast” look of a terminal cancer patient. I don’t think he realizes it, but thinks he’ll make a full recovery.
I avoided the draft the same way in 1958.
The man is near death with cancer infesting his brain and STILL he HABITUALLY LIES!
Not alot of need for 11-Bravos in Germany back then...
as a Draftee, no mater how smart you were...With only a 2 yr commitment they didn't send you to an 8-9 month school so u could serve 6 months in the field....
I don’t think that’s correct. McCain thinks just because he flew missions against the most heavily defended air defense sites in the world and spent five and a half years in a communist prison he can bash President Trump. Trump served in the military at a High School boarding school. There he learned more than our current Generals, which despite his great modesty he’s shared with those who lack his strategic genius. We all must remember that he has a deeper love for America, then and even now, and his studies precluded him from the draft, and then, unfortunately, he had bond spurs, very painful. He had his tough times. He shared too he had his fears and valor as much as any Vietnam vet, as he explained to staunch conservative Howard Stern. While fighting bone spurs and all the commensurate pain, our now Commander Staff risked PTSD and STD. I say screw McCain.
I had two brothers who were drafted and sent to Germany.
This liar is just looking for attention. It would be hard to tell McCain and Maxine Waters apart if it weren’t for the Black thing.
As much as I detest McCain, saying he caused the Forrestal fire is bullshit. His plane was sitting aft of the one that was hit by the Zuni rocket. It had its tail pointed out over the port side. There’s nothing he did, or could have done, to start that fire.
Bump!
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