Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Monday blasted the media for characterizing his swipe at people who were granted deferments from the Vietnam War as an attack on President Trump. Speaking on C-SPAN, the senator said it was unfair that poor people were drafted into service while “the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur.” Such an ailment was cited by Trump to avoid military service during the war. But McCain, who was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for five years, insisted on Monday that he wasn’t talking about the commander in chief. “I was against that 40 years ago,” McCain told reporters, unprompted. “So for you people to say that I’m taking a shot at Trump over that, then you don’t know my record. It is unfair and unequal. The rich people didn’t serve and poor people did. It has nothing to do with President Trump.”
—Andrew Desiderio
