The Washington Post published a story implying that Donald Trump is considering imposing a military draft to deal with the shortfall in recruiting. 

It is a dumb idea, first of all. The US military is not designed to fight using amature soldiers as cannon fodder. A military made up of troops who were drafted would be a waste of time, and money, and undermine all the strategies and tactics developed since the Vietnam war. 

It's also not an idea that Trump has endorsed or even contemplated. 

On Tuesday, after publication of this report, Trump wrote on social media that the idea he would call for mandatory military service was “ridiculous” and attacked The Washington Post for what he said was a “failed attempt to damage me with the Voters.”

“In fact,” he said, “I never even thought of that idea.”

The Post's reporting is based on the musings of some people in Trump's orbit, some of whom have talked vaguely about some form of national service. Trump, however, has not. Quite the opposite. 

Still, that hasn't prevented this non-story from becoming a narrative, regardless of the claim making no sense. Here's how one news outlet described the non-controversy:

Former President Donald Trump shot down the “ridiculous idea” that he could push for mandatory military service if he wins reelection this year and slammed a Washington Post article on the issue as an effort to “damage” him with voters.

“The Fake News Washington Post came up with the ridiculous idea” that Trump will call for mandatory military service, he said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday.

“The Story is completely untrue. In fact, I never even thought of that idea,” he said. “This is only a continuation of their EIGHT-YEAR failed attempt to damage me with the Voters.”

Trump has not taken a public position on whether young people should be required to serve in the military.

You see how this goes, right? Washington Post invents a narrative, Trump denies everything about what he supposedly thinks, and the narrative gets shoved into the public consciousness. 

And then other news outlets say, "Trump has not taken a public position on whether young people should be required to serve in the military."

I'm pretty sure he just did, and you quoted him doing so. But once the story gets out there it takes on a life of its own. 

NEW: “Young Americans haven’t faced the possibility of a draft since 1973. If some in former president Donald Trump’s circle have a say, mandatory service could be back on the table.” https://t.co/ffkub0xOSV

— COURIER (@CourierNewsroom) June 17, 2024

The other reason they are doing this is that it allows the media and Democrats to remind everybody that Trump got a draft deferment. I have no idea how legitimate that deferment was and really don't care at this point, but this narrative gives Trump haters the opportunity to scream "Draft Dodger!" in the same sentence as "Convicted Felon!" 

It's all lies and smears. 

🚨🚨Lot of news today but this shouldn't get lost.

Donald Trump and his advisers are scheming to make military service "mandatory" for Americans. JD Vance appears to be all in too.

Get the word out: a #TrumpDraft is coming under #Project2025. 👀😳 https://t.co/OLRNB5ajfl pic.twitter.com/NT7w0LNoiD

— Murshed Zaheed (@murshedz) June 11, 2024

It is true that there is a strain of thought among some liberals and some conservatives that mandatory national service is a good idea. My father, a liberal, is all in on the idea based on the belief that Americans have no shared experiences anymore. J.D. Vance, for instance, likes the idea as well. So does this New York Times writer. This isn't about a military draft but rather is a social engineering project. 

I'm not a fan, although I understand the argument. The fact is that the military wouldn't benefit at all, people would hate it, and we are talking about putting everybody into some kind of government program or another. Do we really want to create another government bureaucracy and program?

Trump isn't going to waste his time, his energy, or his political capital to impose a national service requirement.

If we want to increase recruitment to the military, the solution is pretty obvious: quit advertising it as the upcoming alphabet career. Military recruits are mainly military brats, and military brats are not, on the whole, into transgenderism and wokeness. 

 If Trump really were considering imposing a military draft or a national service requirement it would be a big story, and rightly so. The thing is that Trump has been very clear when asked about this issue--he doesn't want to do it. The story is all innuendo that is useful to build up a scary scenario. 

It's fiction.