President Trump, who got a draft deferment for bone spurs during the Vietnam War, said he didn’t serve because he was “never a fan” of the conflict but is making up for it now by bolstering the military’s budget.
“I was never a fan of that war. I thought it was a terrible war. I thought it was very far away,” he told British reporter Piers Morgan in an interview that aired Wednesday.
“You’re talking about Vietnam, and at that time nobody ever heard of the country, today they’re doing very well,” the president continued, adding that the country is “brutal on trade” and the people are “great negotiators and great business people.”
Trump said at the time people were asking what was happening over there with “so many people dying.”
“So I was never a fan — this isn’t like we’re fighting against Nazi Germany, we’re fighting against Hitler,” he said, adding that he didn’t march in the streets in protest or think about moving to Canada to escape the draft.
In the interview conducted days before the 75th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday, Morgan asked Trump if he would have liked to serve in another war.
“I would not have minded that at all, I would have been honored,” he said.
“But I think I make up for it right now — look, $700 billion I gave last year, and this year $716 billion,” he said. “And I think I’m making up for it rapidly because we’re rebuilding our military at a level it’s never seen before.”
Trump received five deferments during the Vietnam War, including one for bone spurs in his heels.
The others were for education.
This content was originally published here.