Donald Trump never misses a chance to raise eyebrows among people, and this time he did it again during his speech for U.S. troops stationed in Japan, that he’d “love” to be one of them. It might seem like a sentimental talk, but tons of people found irony in it. The US President visited the USS George Washington, where he addressed a packed hangar full of service members, and poured down all the praise to the military and also shared what seemed like an offhand confession.
The President said, “I’d love to do what you do,” by standing before the troops in uniform. However, critics didn’t hold back from pointing out the fact that Trump himself avoided serving in the Vietnam War, securing five draft deferments, among which one concerned bone spurs in his feet. Netizens didn’t let that detail slide
Said by Bone Spurs in Chief https://t.co/ll9fXeQclE pic.twitter.com/6WG6Xb8iiQ
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) October 28, 2025
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has established himself as a personality of opposing Trump, also took this controversy to his respective social media handle, where he posted, “Said by Bone Spurs in Chief.” And eventually it reignited one of the most enduring criticisms of Trump’s past, which circles around his history of dodging the draft other young men who went on to fight in the Vietnam War.
It was back in the 1960s, Trump received a total of five deferments, out of which four were for education, and the one left, concerned a medical reason. And the funny thing is, when he was asked years later about that bone spurs diagnosis, he wasn’t able to recall properly which foot had been affected. Hence, critics of Donald Trump have reflected back on his line, “I’d love to do what you do,” and have stated that it is a little rich.
And as soon as the video came on X, backlash broke out even at a greater speed. A user said, “Sure, he’d love to do what they do – as long as it doesn’t involve actually doing it.” However, people defended the President too, with a user saying, “He’s clearly showing respect. People are just twisting his words to make him look bad.”
This isn’t the first time Trump’s comments about the military have landed him in hot water. His reported remarks about fallen soldiers being “losers” and “suckers” claims he has denied continue to haunt his public image among veterans and military families.
Hence, concerning all these facts, the President saying, “I’d love to do what you do,” hasn’t been taken well by people, and has resulted in a reaction that is so fierce. Even as he stood before them, surrounded by the very men and women who dedicate their lives to service, the ghost of his Vietnam-era deferments hung in the air like an unspoken question. Now a question is striking in the minds of all the people that would he really have loved to do what they do, or just to say it now, when the cameras are rolling?
