Less than a week has passed since Vice President Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 presidential race. However, Walz’s military background, which would normally be an asset in a campaign, has come under fire from Republicans.
The controversy stemmed from a 2018 video that resurfaced recently, showing Walz discussing his views on gun control. In the clip, Walz mentions, “We can make sure those weapons of war that I carried in war are only carried in war.”
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Before entering politics, Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years and was deployed to Italy in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks. However, some Republicans are now using his comments about the weapons he carried during his service as fodder for scrutiny and claims of stolen valor.
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During a recent campaign event, Republican VP candidate JD Vance accused Walz of never experiencing combat and alleged that Walz deserted his unit before they were set to deploy to Iraq in the early 2000s—where Vance himself served as a Marine. Vance reiterated these claims in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash.
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Vance stated, “This is a guy who’s on video saying ‘I carried a gun in war.’ He never saw combat. This is a guy who, as others claim ‘he’s an Afghanistan veteran, he’s a veteran of a war,’ nodded in agreement instead of correcting them. I’m not criticizing Tim Walz’s service; I’m criticizing the fact that he misrepresented it for political gain.”
The Harris campaign clarified that Walz “misspoke,” as reported in a statement to CNN. Transportation Secretary and Navy veteran Pete Buttigieg defended Walz on CNN’s “State of the Union,” criticizing Vance’s derogatory remarks.
“The fact that one veteran would disparage another veteran goes against everything I learned during my service,” Buttigieg remarked. “It’s rare to find anything Tim Walz says that isn’t accurate.”
