House Democrat compares Walz attacks to ‘Swift Boat bulls‑‑‑’ against Kerry

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) said Thursday that attacks on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) regarding his military service reminded her of the infamous swift boat attacks against then-Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) during his run for president in 2004.

Sherrill told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that she felt compelled to speak out about the military accusations against Walz, who served more than two decades in the Army National Guard, because they are “so incredibly offensive.”

“It’s reminiscent of the Swift Boat bulls‑‑‑ that Sen. Kerry faced in his election. We’re seeing the same type of people trying to reignite this same kind of slanderous campaign against a man who served for 24 years in the National Guard,” she said Thursday.

Sherrill, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, also defended Walz’s record in a post on the social platform X. She called the attacks on his military background “a disgrace” and said it’s the “same old divisive show” from former President Trump.

The swift boat controversy was a defining feature of the 2004 presidential race between Kerry and George W. Bush.

A group known as the “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” questioned Kerry’s military record — which included commanding a swift boat in Vietnam — receiving widespread publicity. Although nearly all of the veterans who served with Kerry have disputed the claims in the ads, they are seen as one of the deciding factors in Kerry’s loss.

A driving force behind the swift boat campaign was Chris LaCivita, who is Trump’s current campaign adviser.

LaCivita posted online Wednesday saying “Swift Boat Veteran For Truth were never disproven.” Matthew Dowd, who was a strategist for the Bush-Cheney campaign, said it was disproven and called the 2004 attacks “nearly all lies.”

Walz, who was named Vice President Harris’s running mate earlier this week, has been attacked for leaving the military before his unit was deployed, though men who served under him have said his decision came before they received the deployment orders.

Walz has also been criticized for allegedly inflating his rank in retirement, and for claiming that he carried a weapon in war, when he never actually saw combat.

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), the Republican nominee for vice president and a veteran himself, went after Walz’s record Wednesday.

“I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war?” Vance said at a campaign stop in Michigan. “He has not spent a day in a combat zone. … I’d be ashamed if I was him and I lied about my military service like he did.”

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who was among the final contenders to become Harris’s vice president, defended Walz in a post on X, asking whether Vance forgot what the Marines taught him about respect.

“Don’t become Donald Trump. He calls veterans suckers and losers and that is beneath those of us who have actually served,” Kelly wrote.

Sherrill said the accusations against Walz are “really offensive.”

“I just want him to proudly talk about his time and service, because he has lived a lifetime of public service,” she said. “And this is that same old tired playbook. They’re like one-trick ponies against people who serve.”