For those who served during the time the draft existed the term “draft dodger” brought images of a people betraying their country. One person who used the term “draft dodger” for Trump said, “I use the term broadly to mean anyone who took advantage of deferments to avoid the draft.”
Right or wrong, it was not uncommon for college students to get a draft deferment while attending college during the Vietnam War. At that time there were about 15 million men who received deferments, were exempted, or disqualified for military service. There were over 200,000 men with draft violations.
According to a published copy of an Extract of Registrant Classification Record from the National Archives, Donald Trump received a college deferment (2-S) starting July 28, 1964. On July 9, 1968 he was classified available for service (1-A). On October 15, 1968 he was given a physical exam and reclassified, qualified for service only in case of war (1-Y). On Feb. 1, 1972 he was again reclassified as not qualified for military service (4-F). These were legitimate official deferments