CNN Dana Bash pressed Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) about his attacks on the governor. Tim Walz(D-Minn.)’s military service record on Sunday due to questions surrounding former President Trump’s history of avoiding the draft for the Vietnam War.
Vance and other Republicans have repeatedly questioned Walz’s service in the National Guard, falsely claiming that he decided retire in 2005 after 24 years of service to avoid a deployment to Iraq. Walz retired to run for Congress that year.
Bash rejected those attacks, questioning Trump’s lack of military service. He received a series of medical postponements to avoid the Vietnam project, delays that have since come under scrutiny.
“Donald Trump did not serve in the military. He received a medical draft deferment because of bone spurs to avoid serving in the Vietnam War, supposedly as a favor to his father,” she asked Vance. “Do you think this is shameful too?”
“I don’t think Donald Trump served in the military, but he didn’t lie about it,” Vance said. “Dana, I’ve known Donald Trump for a long time. Don’t you think he honors or do you think he was in my service?
“Donald Trump did not lie about serving in the military,” he continued. “He didn’t say he went to Vietnam when he didn’t. This is the problem.”
“I don’t criticize anyone, whether they served our country or not. I think it’s an honor to serve,” she added. “But obviously many people have reasons not to serve. I criticize someone for embellishing their history of lies by saying: I went to war. I achieved. Do you think it’s a problem that he said, I went to war, but he didn’t? In fact, this seems to be a problem for me.
Walz was deployed to Italy to support U.S. troops in Iraq in 2003, although he was never deployed to a combat zone.
Vance also served in the military, deploying to Iraq as a Public Affairs officer in the Marine Corps as part of four years of service.
The attacks on Walz have been compared to “Swift Boat,” the 2004 attack scandal on then-Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass) military record during his own presidential campaign, which was also misleading.
Harris’ campaign has previously denounced the attacks on Walz’s service record.
“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 defender of our veterans and military families,” the campaign told The Associated Press last week.
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