Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio), the Republican vice presidential nominee, criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Vice President Harris’ running mate, for his military service, saying Wednesday that the governor “ You shouldn’t pretend to be something you are. no.”
A reporter asked Vance to respond to Walz’s criticism that the Ohio senator’s Silicon Valley support and Ivy League education made him part of the elite.
“I came from a family where no one in my family ever studied law,” Vance said at a campaign event in Michigan. “I was – I grew up in a poor family. The fact that Tim Walz wants to make this a bad thing, that I actually worked through college, through law school and made something of myself – to me, that’s the American dream.
“And if Tim Walz wants to insult him, I think that, frankly, is very bizarre,” he added.
The Ohio senator, a Navy veteran, suggested that Walz was not being truthful about his military background.
“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 States of America – asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did. I did what they asked me to do, and I did it with honor, and I’m very proud of that service,” Vance said.
“When Tim Walz was invited by his country to go to Iraq, do you know what he did?” he said. “He abandoned the Army and allowed his unit to go without him.”
Walz spent two decades in the Army National Guard, where he was deployed overseas for a few months on active duty and whose responsibilities also included responding to tornadoes and fighting floods, according to Minnesota Public Radio. Walz did not see the fight.
Walz left the Army National Guard to run for Congress, according to the Star Tribune.
Vance also hit Walz in a past video shared by the Harris campaign, in which Walz said he carried weapons during the war. The Republican senator from Ohio questioned whether Walz had ever been to war or carried a gun in war.
Vance worked as a combat correspondent and spent time in Iraq, according to Army Times.
“What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valuables trash,” Vance said. “Don’t pretend to be something you’re not, and if he wants to criticize me for getting an Ivy League education, I’m proud of the fact that my grandma supported me, that I was able to make something of myself.”
“I would be embarrassed if I were him and lied about my military service like he did,” he added.
Walz was formally selected as Harris’ running mate on Tuesday. The two held their first campaign event together that day in Philadelphia.
The Harris campaign defended Walz in a statement to The Hill
“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 advocate for our veterans and military families,” the campaign said.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
