Vance continues attacks on Walz’s depiction of military service

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) doubled down on his attacks on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s (D) military background, arguing during a campaign event Thursday that Vice President Harris’s running mate had misrepresented his service.

“Tim Walz said that he carried a weapon in war. He never went to war,” Vance said while campaigning with several House Republicans in New Kensington, Pa. “Tim Walz said that he didn’t know his unit was about to deploy to Iraq, when even his own press release at the time said that he knew exactly that.”

“Tim Walz claimed to be a command sergeant major, even had it printed on his challenge coins, and he knew he never achieved that rank,” he continued. “And now Kamala Harris, showing terrible judgment, has decided that her way out of this political problem is to claim that she and Tim Walz are the victims.”

Vance claimed the “victims” were the “veterans who are having their service disparaged” and accused Walz of “lying” about his service. 

The Harris-Walz campaign hit back at Vance in a Thursday statement.

“After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he 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 champion for our veterans and military families,” a campaign spokesperson said.

“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.” 

Walz has drawn scrutiny from Vance and other Republicans in recent days over how he depicted his military service. The Minnesota Democrat spent 24 years in the Army National Guard, but the Ohio senator has accused him of “stolen valor.” 

Vance previously noted a clip that was shared by the Harris campaign in which Walz said he had carried weapons in war despite the fact that he had never seen combat. 

News outlets have also sought to parse the timeline between when Walz mulled his run for Congress and the military’s notice of deployment. The Washington Post noted, citing archived filings and website pages, that Walz filed to run for Congress in February 2005 and noted in a press release the following month that he might be potentially called to deploy to Iraq.

The campaign press release noted that “although his tour of duty in Iraq might coincide with his campaign for Minnesota’s 1st Congressional seat, Walz is determined to stay in the race.” The Post reported that records indicated May 16 was his last day with the guard.

The press release also refers to him as a “Command Sergeant Major,” though a Minnesota National Guard official told PolitiFact that for retirement benefit purposes, he was recognized as a master sergeant “because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.”

During a campaign event in Los Angeles earlier this year, Walz hit back at Vance, saying he was “damn proud” of his service.

“I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record,” the governor said. “To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice.”

A Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson has also defended Walz, noting in a statement that Walz “misspoke.” 

“He did handle weapons of war and believes strongly that only military members trained to carry those deadly weapons should have access to them, unlike Donald Trump and JD Vance who prioritize the gun lobby over our children,” the spokesperson said. 

The jabs at Walz’s military service come as recent polls have showed Harris narrowing the gap or even edging past former President Trump in critical battleground states.