Former President Trump has rejected the “ridiculous idea” of promoting mandatory military service if he is re-elected this year, and slammed a Washington Post article on the issue as an attempt to “spoil” voters.
“The fake news Washington Post came up with the ridiculous idea that Trump should call for mandatory military service.” he claimed in the post Truth Social on Tuesday.
“That story is completely false. In fact, I have never even considered the idea.”
“This is just a continuation of eight years of failed attempts to get voters to hurt me,” he added.
Trump has not publicly taken a position on whether young people should be required to serve in the military. The United States has not had a draft since 1973, and military service is voluntary.
The Washington Post article relies heavily on Christopher Miller, who became secretary of the Department of Defense (DOD) during the tumultuous final days of President Trump’s term. By the time Miller took over in November 2020, President Trump had lost reelection and had fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in a social media post.
The Post report said Miller was “one of a number of influential former administration officials and Republican lawmakers who have been vocal about national service obligations.”
In the interview, Miller reportedly suggested that a military mission should be “strongly considered.”
And Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who is seen as a leading contender to be Trump’s vice presidential nominee, said military mandates might be a good idea to ensure more Americans have “some involvement in the game.”
According to the Washington Post article, the Trump campaign was contacted about the story but “declined to say whether the former president supports mandatory military service.”
According to a Washington Post article, Trump’s advisers also warned that personnel and policy roles would only come from “authorized members” of the former president or his reelection team.
Trump has long had feuds with the media over what he calls unfair reporting, including the Washington Post, a spokesman for which did not respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
