A Tale of Two Podiatrists, the Vietnam War, and Favors for Fred Trump

We can probably just file this under “News that is shocking to absolutely no one.”

In fact, there has long been questions regarding how Donald Trump managed to convince the draft board, back in the late 60s, that he had bone spurs and was, therefore, unable to serve in the military during the Vietnam war.

Trump, many years later,  would boast to New York shock jock, Howard Stern, that his personal Vietnam was avoiding sexually transmitted diseases.

The facts are, Trump received five deferments from serving. I’ve long said it was five deferments for a sore foot. I was mistaken.

It was four deferments for being a rich kid in college, and one was for the alleged bone spurs.

The New York Times has featured the story of a Jamaica, Queens podiatrist who, as a favor to Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, wrote up a diagnosis of bone spurs for young Donald, in order to disqualify him from the military draft.

This is according to the doctor’s daughters.

The podiatrist, Dr. Larry Braunstein, died in 2007. But his daughters say their father often told the story of coming to the aid of a young Mr. Trump during the Vietnam War as a favor to his father.

“I know it was a favor,” said one daughter, Dr. Elysa Braunstein, 56, who along with her sister, Sharon Kessel, 53, shared the family’s account for the first time publicly when contacted by The New York Times.

Elysa Braunstein said the implication from her father was that Mr. Trump did not have a disqualifying foot ailment. “But did he examine him? I don’t know,” she said.

Well, if the point was to fake a medical condition, in order to get some rich guy’s kid out of serving in the military, then there wouldn’t have been a need for an examination, would there?

The connection between Dr. Braunstein and the Trumps was that Braunstein rented his office space from Fred Trump.

That particular building was sold by the Trump family in 2004.

“What he got was access to Fred Trump,” Elysa Braunstein said. “If there was anything wrong in the building, my dad would call and Trump would take care of it immediately. That was the small favor that he got.”

Braunstein may not have been alone in the ruse.

A second podiatrist and close friend of Dr. Braunstein’s, Dr. Manny Weinstein, was also discussed. He lived in several different Trump-owned buildings. The first one he moved into was in the same year that Donald Trump received his medical deferment.

While there are no records and Weinstein passed away with no heirs, there is the possibility that he was connected to the draft board, as one of several private physicians that were often brought in.

So Trump gets his deferment in 1968, but apparently, he wasn’t always so sickly.

Mr. Trump had been declared available for service two years earlier and undergone a physical exam, Selective Service records show. That exam did not result in a medical exemption, but he did receive an education deferment. When officials again declared him available for service in July 1968, he had exhausted four education deferments and finished school, so it was the medical exemption that kept him from being eligible.

He has often said it was “ultimately” a high draft lottery number that spared him, but Mr. Trump had been medically exempted for more than a year before the lottery began in December 1969.

Wait? Donald Trump caught in another lie? Say it ain’t so!

Beginning in October 1968, records show, Mr. Trump had a 1-Y classification, a temporary medical exemption, meaning that he could be considered for service only in the event of a national emergency or an official declaration of war, neither of which occurred during the conflict in Vietnam. In 1972, after the 1-Y classification was abolished, his status changed to 4-F, a permanent disqualification.

It was tipsters that pointed the New York Times towards Dr. Braunstein and his daughters.

The doctor’s daughters said his role in Mr. Trump’s military exemption had long been the subject of discussions among relatives and friends.

“It was family lore,” said Elysa Braunstein. “It was something we would always discuss.”

The daughters went on to explain that their dad used to be happy to have that connection to a “famous” guy, like Donald Trump.

Apparently, however, the family of Democrats were sickened by the tabloid lifestyle the reality TV star was living.

Dr. Braunstein was actually a Navy veteran, who served in World War II.

I imagine seeing this spoiled, rich kid he helped moving from wife to wife, mistress to mistress, and living the kind of debauched lifestyle those of the “Greatest Generation” had no time for really did leave a bad taste in his mouth.

And now, that same spoiled, rich kid gets to play soldier with the actual United States military.

That’s especially stunning, given how he trashed retired Marine general, and soon-to-be-former Defense Secretary James Mattis on Twitter, over the past few days.

When President Obama ingloriously fired Jim Mattis, I gave him a second chance. Some thought I shouldn’t, I thought I should. Interesting relationship-but I also gave all of the resources that he never really had. Allies are very important-but not when they take advantage of U.S.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2018

….We are substantially subsidizing the Militaries of many VERY rich countries all over the world, while at the same time these countries take total advantage of the U.S., and our TAXPAYERS, on Trade. General Mattis did not see this as a problem. I DO, and it is being fixed!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2018

Well, I guess we can just write it off to a combination of a guilty conscience (if that’s possible with a man like Trump) and the emasculated feeling he must have, when in the presence of true American heroes.

Truly, this is just one more chunk of the mask falling away. Trump has built himself up as an American hero and legend, in the minds of his personality cult, but all of it, from his act as a “successful businessman” to his campaign trail, tough guy, pro-America stalwart is hogwash, with no roots in the soil of truth.

Is it any wonder that in his two years as president, he has yet to visit our military men and women stationed overseas during the holidays?