Tim Walz’s military record is coming under renewed scrutiny after a CNN fact check concluded that the new Democratic vice presidential nominee’s claim that he carried weapons “in war” was “absolutely false.”
CNN’s Tom Foreman said the quote was misleading because Walz, 60, was never in combat in a war zone.
The check came after Walz’s GOP counterpart J.D. Vance accused Kamala Harris’ running mate of “stolen valor” for claiming in a recently resurfaced 2018 clip that he carried “weapons of war” in war.
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“Walz did make a comment speaking to a group, he’s done it a couple of times, where he has used language that has suggested that he carried weapons in a fighting situation,” Foreman told CNN host Brianna Keilar.
“I know from coming from a military family there is a difference between being in a combat area, being involved at a time of war, and actually being in a position where people are shooting at you,” he added.
“There is no evidence that at any time Governor Walz was in a position of being shot at, and some of his language could easily be seen to suggest he was, so that is absolutely false.”
Keilar commented: “The quote was, ‘We can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried in war is the only place where those weapons are at,’ and certainly for someone who wasn’t familiar with their record, they might draw a different conclusion.”
Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard at 17 and served for 24 years before leaving to run for Congress. He retired just before his unit deployed to the Iraq War in 2005. That same year, Vance went to Iraq as a military journalist, but did not go into combat, according to the Guardian.
Vance, 40, a former marine, attacked Walz the day after he was unveiled as Harris’s number two, saying: “Well, I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war? When was this? What was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq, and he has not spent a day in a combat zone?”
“What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you’re not… I’d be ashamed if I was him and I lied about my military service like he did.”
In his fact check, CNN’s Foreman said there was “no evidence” to back Vance’s assertion that Walz ducked out of his deployment as he left the guard two months before his unit got orders to go to Iraq.
In 2018, Walz reportedly told Minnesota Public Radio: “I know that there are certainly folks that did far more than I did. I know that. I willingly say that I got far more out of the military than they got out of me, from the GI bill to leadership opportunities to everything else.”
The Harris-Walz campaign released a statement defending Walz’s record, saying: “After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform—and as Vice President of the United States he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families.
“Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country—in fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way.”
The targeting of Walz’s military service has raised the specter of the GOP “swift boat” attacks on John Kerry over his service in Vietnam that was credited with harming his losing 2004 presidential campaign against George W. Bush, who did not serve.
The operative credited with masterminding the attacks, Chris LaCivita, is now one of Donald Trump’s top advisers.
