Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Did A Jewish Podiatrist ‘Diagnose’ Bone Spurs That Got Trump Out Of Vietnam?

It’s been unclear for 50 years who drafted the “very strong letter” confirming that President Trump had bone spurs in his heels, allowing him to skirt military service in Vietnam.

“You are talking a lot of years,” Trump told The New York Times in 2016, unable to recall the doctor’s name.

The answer could be Larry Braunstein, a now-deceased podiatrist in Queens, New York, who rented his office from Trump’s father, Fred C. Trump. The New York Times visited the doctor’s daughters, who suggested that the diagnosis could have been granted as a favor.

Elysa Braunstein and Sharon Kessel told the Times that their father, who died in 2007, often shared the story of helping the younger Trump during the Vietnam War.

“I know it was a favor,” Elysa Braunstein said, recalling that her father made it sound as if President Trump did not have an injury that should’ve exempted him from serving. “But did he examine him? I don’t know.”

There is no paper evidence backing up the family’s claims, according to The Times. The Braunstein family also implied another foot doctor, Manny Weinstein, may have been involved in the spur scheme. Weinstein, who died in 1995, lived in two apartments owned by Fred Trump. According to city directories, he moved into the first the year President Trump’s exemption was signed off on.

Braunstein’s daughters said their father didn’t leave any medical records with them, and the doctor who took over his practice told The Times that he has no knowledge of the situation.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.