Jesse Ventura defends Tim Walz amid ‘despicable’ military service record attacks

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura defended the man occupying his former office who has come under scrutiny since being selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate.

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) served 24 years in the Army National Guard before retiring in 2005 to focus on his House bid. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), running against Walz for the vice presidency, has led the charge in attacking his opponent for avoiding a deployment that was announced shortly after his retirement.

A former Navy SEAL, Ventura described those attacks as “shameful,” “despicable,” and “hogwash” Friday on CNN.

“They talk about him missing his deployment, well maybe Mr. Vance should ask the real question: What is the National Guard doing deploying to a foreign country in a foreign war?” Ventura said, criticizing former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney for entering the Iraq War “based on lies.”

“They needed more bodies,” Ventura said. “They couldn’t implement the draft, that would be political suicide. So what George Bush did was sign an executive order sending the National Guard into foreign deployment. The National Guard is not for foreign deployment. Their name says what they do: They guard our nation from within.”

Ventura said he never deployed with any E-9s, the highest rank an enlisted official can achieve, who “are not going to walk the point” or “be involved in any combat whatsoever.”

“I think Vance is doing a disservice to himself and a disservice to the United States Marine Corps,” Ventura said. “I know a lot of great Marines, and Marines show respect. And Vance is not showing respect.”

Ventura, a former professional wrestler, further criticized Vance for having respect for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, whom he called the “biggest draft dodger from the Vietnam War.”

“It’s despicable on [Vance’s] behalf for doing that, and I hope all veterans feel like I do about it,” Ventura said. “You don’t criticize another veteran and how they served, whether they’re a cook or whatever they do, they all have a job to do, and if you’re going to be successful, everybody has to do their job and pitch in.”

Despite his independent affiliation and rumored spot on presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vice presidential short list, Ventura also endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket because “it’s time for a woman president — we men have screwed it up enough.”

“I want to be alive to see the first woman president of the United States of America and the first woman commander in chief, and we’ve got her right now,” Ventura, 73, said.

Ventura previously endorsed Walz’s 2022 gubernatorial reelection bid, specifically hailing his stance on abortion rights and his work to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota.