Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is openly questioning the medical deferment that President Donald Trump cites as a reason for not serving in the military during the Vietnam War.
Buttigieg, an Afghan War veteran, lately has jabbed at Trump’s lack of military service, both as a way of challenging the president’s and as a way to draw a distinction with his top-tier rivals, none of whom have served in the military.
But while the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor has indirectly suggested that Trump’s medical deferment was to avoid serving, he said he would relish the opportunity to question him directly if he becomes the Democratic presidential nominee.
One of Trump’s deferments came as a result of a physician’s letter stating that he suffered from bone spurs in his feet. Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 described the condition as temporary.
“Maybe it would be a good idea to have a war veteran standing next to him on stage raising the question of whether bone spurs are really what prevented him from putting on his country’s uniform when it was his turn to serve,” Buttigieg told about 100 people at Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant on Tuesday.
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