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(His campaign notes that Trump received a high number in the draft lottery and was unlikely to ever be called up.) But on numerous occasions, he has dismissed the experiences of those who did. He did not serve himself, avoiding the Vietnam War via four education deferments, followed by a medical deferment for bone spurs in his feet. This perfunctory effort was perhaps to be expected, since Trump has a long and colorful history of showing disrespect toward men and women in uniform. Calling it a “publicity stunt,” one veteran wrote on, “We are not sure what the estimated wait time is, but it is probably safe to say you should hold on to your card for now.” It soon became evident that Trump had no actual plan in place to help anyone who contacted him through the hotline. Those who reached a live human were similarly instructed to send an email, or to mail their medical records to campaign headquarters at Trump Tower. Many of the veterans who called the hotline-855-VETS-352-say they were sent to an automated voicemail message telling them to email the campaign.

“I love all veterans and will help them finally lead the kind of lives that they should be leading,” Trump declared at the time.

A campaign aide said that Trump himself would personally respond to some of the messages.

DONALD TRUMP COMMANDER IN CHIEF HOW TO

Or, as his campaign put it, to take care of “all Veteran complaints very quickly and efficiently like a world-class business man can do, but a politician has no clue.” Last summer, about a month after declaring his candidacy, Trump unveiled a hotline for veterans to share ideas about how to overhaul the bureaucracy that served them.

When Donald Trump launched his bid for the White House, one of his earliest initiatives was a promise to help Americans who had gone to war for their country.

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