President Donald Trump’s past has come into focus, especially the fact that he avoided the military draft five times. This comes amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict, in which American soldiers have already lost their lives. Now, a joke has been doing the rounds on social media, aimed at the President not having served in the military.
“Trump was in the News conference and he had a beer thrown at him,” one person wrote on X, before delivering the punchline. “Good thing. It was a draft beer so he could dodge it.”
Given that Trump had a public address today in Kentucky, many might have believed that a beer was thrown at the president. However, that is not the case.
Beer thrown at Trump? Joke explained
It is a joke that has been circulating for some time. Another version says “A beer was thrown at President Trump during a press conference this afternoon in Washington. Trump was unharmed. Since the beer was a draft,… he was able to dodge it.”
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The joke makes a pun on the word draft, which is a kind of beer and also indicates mandatory enrolment of individuals in armed forces. Draught or draft beer is different as it is served from a cask or keg, rather than a can or a bottle.
Donald Trump avoided military draft
Trump had reportedly avoided the military draft four times to finish his college education. As he was graduating a bone spurs diagnosis meant he could not enroll for military service.
When Trump graduated in 1968, the US was embroiled in the bloody Vietnam War. Trump’s bone spurs diagnosis came two years after he was declared available for service, and had passed a physical exam.
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The New York Times had reported the current president say his ‘heel spurs’ made him unfit for service. Heel spurs are protrusions caused by calcium buildup on the heel bone. They can be cured by stretching, orthotics, or surgery.
However, Trump had said he did not get surgery for his condition. “Over a period of time, it healed up,” the POTUS said as per NYT.
Amid the current ongoing conflict with Iran, there have been calls on social media for Barron Trump, one of the president’s sons, to be drafted as well. However, there have been claims that he’s ‘too tall’ to serve.