John McCain issues veiled criticism of Trump's Vietnam deferment

US senator John McCain has issued a veiled criticism of President Donald Trump's medical deferments which kept him from serving in the Vietnam War.

In an interview with C-SPAN last week, Mr McCain lamented that the military "drafted the lowest income level of America and the highest income level found a doctor that would say they had a bone spur".

McCain discusses some of his experiences in Vietnam

One of Mr Trump's five draft deferments came as a result of a physician's letter stating he suffered from bone spurs in his feet. Mr Trump's presidential campaign described the issue as a temporary problem.

Mr McCain spent six years as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down over North Vietnam in 1967.

Mr Trump derided Mr McCain's service in 2015, stating his fellow Republican was not a "war hero", and adding: "I like people who weren't captured."