New Trump statue in DC mocks his draft deferment for bone spurs

Just two days before Veterans Day, a satirical statue of President Donald Trump appeared in Washington, DC, mocking his multiple Vietnam-era draft deferments. The gold-painted statue titled "The Foot Soldier" appeared on the National Mall on Nov. 9 and features Trump seated with one shoe off, holdin

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What is the story about?

Just two days before Veterans Day, a satirical statue of President Donald Trump appeared in Washington, DC, mocking his multiple Vietnam-era draft deferments.

The gold-painted statue titled "The Foot Soldier" appeared on the National Mall on Nov. 9 and features Trump seated with one shoe off, holding his foot.

Born in 1946, Trump was of an age eligible to be drafted during the Vietnam War, but he received five draft deferments: four education deferments while attending college and one medical deferment in 1968 after he graduated. Trump got the medical deferment for a diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels.

A statue of US President Donald Trump holding his foot, titled

“We honor the service and sacrifice of our Commander in Chief, Donald J Trump. He’s a soldier in spirit, who marched to the front lines of dodging

the draft, armed with a perfect diagnosis of bone spurs," a plaque on the statue reads. “We salute a leader who knows you can’t spell sacrifice without ‘I,’ and a warrior who reminds us that sometimes when you’re called to stand up, it’s best to just sit down and rest your feet."

Anonymous art protest group The Secret Handshake told USA TODAY it erected the satirical monument to highlight "Trump's efforts to avoid the military during Vietnam." The group has been behind a series of art installations in Washington mocking Trump, including statues of the president and Jeffrey Epstein, a golden toilet, and an Iran war arcade game, among others.

In an email, the group said the statue will be up through Veterans Day on Nov. 11.

“Trump Derangement Syndrome is a sick and incurable disease that has rotted the brains of these Democrat activists," White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told USA TODAY in response to an inquiry about the statue. "President Trump will never waver in fighting for and protecting the American people.”