Hell Freezes Over: CNN Fact-Checks VP Pick Tim Walz’ Military Experience, Making Kamala Harris Look Even Worse
A CNN fact-check revealed that Tim Walz, the newly announced running mate of Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor, has been misleadingly embellishing his military service record. CNN’s Tom Foreman pointed out that while Walz, a National Guard veteran, has used language suggesting he was armed in combat, there is no evidence he ever faced gunfire. Although he served during wartime, he was never in a combat zone. The criticism arose in response to Walz’s claims of having carried weapons “in war,” which CNN, supported by other reports, argued was inaccurate since he did not serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.
During campaign events, both Harris and Walz have emphasized his military background, but former colleagues have cast doubt on his narrative. A retired Command Sergeant Major stated that Walz left the military at a time when his unit was being deployed to Iraq, resulting in others serving in his stead. Republican adversary JD Vance condemned Walz for what he characterizes as “stolen valor,” further questioning his qualifications to speak on military matters. The Harris campaign responded by highlighting Walz’s service without addressing the specific claims about his combat experience. the controversy has raised significant questions about Walz’s military narrative as he campaigns for the vice presidency.
A CNN fact-checker found that Kamala Harris’ newly announced running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has been embellishing his military record.
CNN’s Tom Foreman said on Wednesday Walz, a National Guard veteran, on more than one occasion “has used language that has suggested that he carried weapons in a fighting situation.”
“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 continued.
“There is no evidence at any time Gov. Walz was in a position of being shot at, and some of his language could easily be seen to suggest that he was, so that is absolutely false when he said that about gun rights out there,” Foreman concluded.
Woah. CNN fact checks Tim Walz for lying about carrying weapons in war
“There is a difference between being involved in a time of war, and actually being in a position where people are shooting at you… that is absolutely false”
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) August 7, 2024
One clip the CNN reporter was likely referring to was d by Harris’ campaign account Tuesday on social media platform X. In it, Walz can be heard telling an audience, “I spent 25 years in the Army and I hunt.
“I’ve been voting for common-sense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks. We can do CDC research. … We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are [allowed].”
Gov. @Tim_Walz: I spent 25 years in the Army and I hunt. I’ve been voting for common sense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks. We can research the impacts of gun violence. We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war,… pic.twitter.com/3IVaXi2RP2
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 6, 2024
Walz never served in war, or even anywhere near a combat zone, USA Today reported.
He was in the National Guard during a time of war, having enlisted in 1981 and retired in 2005.
“Walz deployed with the Minnesota National Guard in August 2003 to Vicenza, Italy, as part of support for the US war in Afghanistan, according to a Minnesota Guard spokesperson. He did not deploy to Afghanistan or Iraq or a combat zone as part of his service,” CNN said.
By contrast, Vance did deploy to Iraq with the U.S. Marines in 2005 and 2006, and therefore is a combat veteran.
Both CNN and The New York Times seemed to want to downplay this experience.
The outlets both pointed out Vance’s occupation was listed as a combat correspondent and that he did not fight as a frontline combatant.
Of course, the future senator still likely was very much in harm’s way, given over 75 percent of injuries sustained by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan were caused by improvised explosive devices commonly placed along roadsides, according to a 2010 study published by the National Institutes of Health.
Harris made Walz’s military service front and center at their first rally together in Philadelphia on Tuesday, saying, “To his fellow veterans, he is Sgt. Maj. Walz.”
However, retired Minnesota Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends told Alpha News in 2022, as Walz was seeking re-election, that the governor left military service in 2005 after receiving a warning order that his unit, the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion, was to be deployed to Iraq.
“He abandoned us. … As soon as the shots were fired in Iraq, he turned and ran the other way, hung his hat up and quit,” Behrends recalled.
The veteran explained that he was next in line behind Walz in the unit to take the command sergeant major’s slot. Behrends stepped up and deployed to Iraq for nearly two years in Walz’s absence.
Vance responded to Walz’s decision to leave the military, saying at a campaign event in Michigan, “You know what really bothers me about Tim Walz as a Marine who served his country in uniform? When the United States Marine Corps, when the United State of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did it when they asked me to do it, and I did it honorably and I’m very proud of that service.
“When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him,” Vance noted.
The senator also highlighted Walz’s stolen valor.
“He said we shouldn’t allow weapons ‘that I used in war’ to be [used] on America’s streets,” Vance said. “Well, I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war? 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,” he concluded. “I’d be ashamed if I was him and I lied about my military service like he did.”
The Harris campaign responded to the controversy, saying, “In his 24 years of service, the Governor carried, fired and trained others to use weapons of war innumerable times. 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 campaign didn’t address Walz’s false claim that he carried these weapons into war.
CNN should be given credit for highlighting the issue.
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