KAMALA Harris responded to criticism that her running mate, Tim Walz, exaggerated details of his service in the National Guard and shied away from the war in Iraq.
The Democratic candidate praised Walz after the Minnesota governor was accused of “avoiding war” by rival vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance by retiring before his unit served in a combat zone.
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While Harris publicly praised her running mate, her campaign modified its website to reflect the fact that Walz’s rating was lowered after he left the service.
Walz retired from the Minnesota National Guard in May 2005, before his battalion received notice in August that it was being deployed to Iraq.
He retired from military service with the rank of Sergeant Major – but was demoted months after his retirement, leaving him as Sergeant Major.
Despite having his rank reduced, Walz publicly referred to himself as a retired sergeant major several times.
Harris defended her running mate’s service to reporters on Thursday.
“Listen, I commend anyone who has stepped up to serve our country,” Harris said.
This comes as…
– Trump criticizes Harris for dodging the press, calling her ‘too stupid’ to give interviews
– Leaked audio reveals Trump’s contradictory conversation with Walz
– Taylor Swift fans insist she supported Kamala Harris
– JD Vance slams Walz as ‘disgraceful’
– MSNBC’s Joy Reid sparks fury over comments by revealing who would have been better chosen as Harris’ VP
“And I think we all should.”
SITE ADJUSTMENT
The Harris-Walz campaign website also changed Walz’s official biography in an apparent reaction to criticism of how he presented his position upon retirement.
The site previously referred to Walz as a “retired sergeant major.”
However, it now says he once served at the rank of sergeant major.
National Guard officials said Walz retired before fulfilling the course requirements for the rank of sergeant major.
‘STOLEN VALUABLE GARBAGE’
Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, criticized Walz on Wednesday and accused him of embellishing his time in the military.
“What bothers me about Tim Walz is the trash of stolen value,” he continued.
“Don’t pretend to be something you’re not.”
Allegations that Walz embellished his service record have been around for decades.
HISTORY OF BLENDING
A resurfaced video from 2009 shows Walz, who was then a congressman, giving a farewell speech to a group of soldiers deploying to Iraq.
In the video, he refers to himself as a “retired sergeant major.”
Walz also stated that he served in the war at a campaign event in 2018 when he was running for governor.
“We can research the impacts of gun violence,” he said before a crowd.
“We can ensure that the weapons of war I carried in war are only carried in war.”
Vance directly referenced that video in his comments Wednesday.
“He said we shouldn’t allow weapons that I used in war to be on the streets of America,” Vance said.
“Well, I wonder. Tim Walz, when have you been to war?”
JD VANCE VS TIM WALZ
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Senator JD Vance had full lives before becoming politicians.
Walz and Vance both served in the military. Walz was in the Army National Guard for 24 years and J.D. Vance was in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years.
Veterans share a love for Diet Mountain Dew.
However, Walz spent most of his adult life as a high school teacher and taught for a year in China after graduating from college.
In 1999, he was the faculty advisor for the first Gay Straight Alliance at the school where he worked.
Walz only entered politics in 2004, when he volunteered for John Kerry’s presidential campaign.
In 2006, he ran for Congress and defeated incumbent Republican Gil Gutknecht. He served until 2019, when he was elected governor of Minnesota.
Meanwhile, Vance grew up after a tumultuous childhood in Ohio and went to college after serving in the Navy.
After graduating from Ohio State University, he attended Yale Law School, where he began writing his best-selling memoir Hillbilly Elegy.
Vance briefly worked in politics before moving to the technology sector in California, where he met venture capitalist Peter Thiel.
In 2016, he published his book and became a well-known name in popular culture.
Vance, once staunchly anti-Donald Trump, ran for Senate on a pro-MAGA platform in 2022 and was elected with Trump’s blessing.
Following Vance’s comments, Harris’ campaign told the Washington Post that Walz carried, fired and trained with “weapons of war.”
In response to Vance’s comments, the Harris campaign told the Washington Post that Walz loaded, fired, and trained others on how to use “weapons of war countless times.”
“Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country,” the campaign said in a statement.
“In fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country.”
The US Sun has reached out to the National Guard for comment.
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