Real photo of Trump serving in the military?

On By Vaseline

Claim:

An image shared in May 2024 authentically showed former US President Donald Trump serving in the military.

Judgement:

Fake

In May 2024, a photo allegedly depicting former US President Donald Trump serving in the military was circulated on social media. “We as a nation have been blessed with so much courage, leadership and love for the country of soldiers to make America great again,” said an X post with the photo.

It was the same photo Also Scattered online back in December 2023.

“So grateful for Donald Trump who has led our troops to victories in every major war since the birth of our nation,” said a 2023 after on X captioned the viral image.

Some social media users suggested the photo was taken using artificial intelligence (AI) software, while others claimed it was an example of ‘stolen courage’.

We used Google reverse-image search to investigate the origin of the photo. We discovered that the image was the first shared online on July 5, 2023:

“So who is behind this Twitter account?” a post shared on July 6, 2023, askedwith three other patently absurd images that would show Trump in different eras of American history.

A screenshot of the in ‘freedom’ and service.”

Importantly, as Snopes reported in 2016, Trump has never served in the military, as he has been granted college deferrals four times:

1964: Donald Trump became eligible for the draft on his 18th birthday (June 14, 1964) and registered with the Selective Service System 10 days later. He received the first of four 2-S (college) deferrals on July 28, 1964.

1965: Trump received his second college deferral on December 14, 1965.

1966: Trump’s previous deferment expired and he was reclassified as 1-A (available for military service) on November 22, 1966. His 2-S deferment was extended on December 13.

1967: No record.

1968: Trump received his fourth and final deferment on January 16, 1968. After graduating from Wharton, he was reclassified 1-A on July 9, 1968. Trump underwent an Armed Forces Physical Examination (with the result listed only as “DISQ”) on September 19, 1968, and was reclassified as 1-Y (qualified for service only in time of war or national emergency) on October 15, 1968.

Trump’s fifth postponement, Snopes reported, was related to “spurs in both heels.”

According to a statement from the Trump campaign, the 1-Y classification came from the fact that Trump had spurs in both heels. (…)

The details of that medical exemption remain unclear and controversial, and most Vietnam-era government medical records have not survived.

1972:

Despite the supposedly “short-term” nature of Trump’s disqualifying physical condition, he was reclassified as 4-F (not qualified for military service) on February 17, 1972, presumably as a result of the elimination of the 1-Y classification the previous year.

The New York Times also published an article saying this in 2016, titled: “Donald Trump’s Draft Deferments: Four for College, One for Bad Feet.”

To confirm that the photo in question was fake, we used tools designed to detect AI-generated images. The AI ​​or Not tool rated the photo as “probably AI”, and the Illuminarty tool indicated that the image’s “AI probability” was equal to 97.2%.

Finally, no reputable sources have ever shared the image of Trump serving in the military. Because Trump did not serve in the military and the photo showed signs of being artificially created, we rated the claim as “fake.”

In September 2023, we examined a similar image showing Trump dressed as a firefighter as one of the first responders at the scene of the September 11 terrorist attack in New York City.

(X-user @Trump_History45)

If you don’t want to be misled by AI-generated images and videos in the future, read our tips here.