Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign team quietly tweaked running mate Tim Walz’s biography on Thursday in a bid to kill off scrutiny on his military rank.
The campaign website converted his official Army National Guard title from “retired command sergeant major” to “served at the command sergeant major rank,” a minor but relevant change that Walz has been called out for before.
Walz failed to complete the required coursework for the higher rank of command sergeant major when he retired, knocking him back down to master sergeant.
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He served in the Army National Guard for 24 years and retired two months before the unit he commanded received notice that they would soon be deployed to Iraq. Walz later said he left his post to focus full-time on running for Congress, which is why he never served with his unit in a combat zone.
JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate who was deployed in Iraq with the Marines, accused Walz of being “dishonest” with Americans by lying about his credentials during a rally on Wednesday.
Other veterans have asked Walz to update his military credentials as well, including when he ran for governor in 2018. Two retired command sergeants major wrote a lengthy letter on Facebook criticizing the then-governor candidate for “embellishing” his career.
