Did activists put up golden statue of Trump rubbing his foot in DC ahead of Veterans Day?

The president avoided the draft during the Vietnam War due to an alleged bone spur. Published Nov. 10, 2026 Claim: Ahead of Veterans Day in November, activists erected a golden statue of U.S. President Donald Trump rubbing his foot on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., referring to him avoiding the draft during the Vietnam War because of an alleged bone spur, Rating: In November, a rumor spread that activists anonymously placed a golden statue of U.S. President Donald Trump rubbing his foot on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., referring to him avoiding the draft during the Vietnam War because he allegedly had a bone spur. The claim and photographs of the supposed statue circulated on social media, including on Facebook and Reddit. An X post (archived) shared two images and said "The satirical monument, installed just ahead of Veterans Day, mocks Trump's Vietnam War draft deferment for bone spurs": One of the photographs showed an epigraph at the base of the statue that read: We honor the service and sacrifice of our commander in chief, Donald J. Trump. He's a soldier in spirit, who marched to the front lines of dodging the draft, armed with a perfect diagnosis of bone spurs. We salute a leader who knows you can't spell sacrifice without "I," and a warrior who reminds us that sometimes when you're called to stand up, it's best to just sit down and rest your feet. "I can be very military." — President Donald J. Trump "The foot soldier," another inscription at the bottom said. Meanwhile, Snopes readers searched our website, seeking confirmation that the statue was real. It was. The statue appeared in a series of photographs on the reputable image bank Getty Images. Further, the organization responsible for putting it up confirmed it had in an email to Snopes. For this reason, we rated the claim true. It also appeared on video news reports, including one by WUSA, a CBS affiliate in Washington: The report said the statue was the work of an organization known as The Secret Handshake, an anonymous collective that also made the "Best Friends Forever" statue of Trump and late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein holding hands. "We did put up the Bone Spur statue," The Secret Handshake told Snopes in an email. The statue evokes the draft deferments Trump benefited from in the 1960s, during the Vietnam War. His disqualification in 1968 cited a medical reason, without providing details. In 2016, his campaign said it was because of bone spurs. Three years later, Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen testified that the president had not shown medical records proving the reason for his disqualification, according to a transcript of his testimony to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform: Mr. Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft. Mr. Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur. But when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said that there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters, but rather, offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment. He finished the conversation with the following comment. ''You think I'm stupid? I'm not going to Vietnam.'' And I find it ironic, Mr. President, that you are in Vietnam right now. And yet, I continued to work for him. The statue is a humorous take on the suggestion that Trump allegedly dodged the draft without providing a real medical reason for not serving his country in Vietnam. It appeared on the National Mall on Nov. 9, two days before Veterans Day. For further reading, Snopes has reported on other statues that derided Trump, including one that showed him naked in the European Parliament. Sources Christensen, Laerke. 'Do Photos Show Gold Statue of Naked Trump at European Parliament?'. Snopes, Snopes.com, 7 Oct. 2026, www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-gold-naked-statue/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.Committee on Oversight and Reform, House of Representatives. Hearing With Michael Cohen, Former Attorney to President Donald Trump. 27 Feb. 2019, www.congress.gov/116/chrg/CHRG-116hhrg35230/CHRG-116hhrg35230.pdf. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.Emery, David. 'How Many Vietnam War-Era Draft Deferments Did Trump Receive?'. Snopes, Snopes.com, 16 June 2024, www.snopes.com/news/2024/06/16/draft-deferments-donald-trump/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.Lindell, Samantha. 'Statue of President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Titled "Best Friends Forever" Appears on National Mall'. CNN, 23 Sept. 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/politics/video/statue-dc-president-trump-jeffrey-epstein-digvid. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.Wrona, Aleksandra. 'Uncovering the Truth Behind 16 Trump Statue and Sculpture Claims'. Snopes, 9 Oct. 2026, www.snopes.com/collections/trump-statue-fact-checks/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026. By Anna Rascouët-Paz Anna Rascouët-Paz is based in Brooklyn, fluent in numerous languages and specializes in science and economic topics. Got tips? Reach out to her on Signal at rascouetsnopes.41 or via email at anna@snopes.com. Article Tags