‘Not Stolen Valor’: CNN’s Brianna Keilar, GOP Rep Exchange Blows Over Gov Tim Walz’s Military Service

CNN anchor Brianna Keilar sparred with Republican Florida Rep. Mike Waltz on Wednesday over Democratic Minnesota Gov. and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz’s claims about his own military service.

Waltz is one of 50 congressional Republicans with military backgrounds who wrote a letter to Walz on Wednesday calling on him to publicly address “egregious misrepresentations” about his 24-year service in the Army National Guard. Keilar accused the Florida congressman of attacking Walz’s military service.

“Well I want to be clear and correct your characterization, I am not attacking his service. I served in the National Guard for 22 out of my 27 years, and I know plenty of guardsman and reservists who served, maybe they went to combat, maybe they didn’t, they retired at a certain rank. Good on them, and I celebrate them. He said he’s proud of that service. If he’s so damn proud about it, why does he have to continue to embellish it and to lie about it, because the facts are clear,” Waltz said.

“It’s not stolen valor,” Keilar shot back. “I just want to be clear, I’m reading this, Mike, and quote, ‘abandoning the men and women under your leadership just as they were getting ready to deploy is not honorable either.’ That is an attack on his service.”

The letter accused Walz of falsely claiming to be a “Retired Command Sergeant Major,” despite allegedly not completing the requirements, and claiming to have carried weapons “in war” despite leaving his battalion before its deployment to Iraq in 2005.

Waltz said the Minnesota governor knew his battalion would be deployed to Iraq before leaving his unit, and must answer to that exit. Keilar said Walz declared his congressional candidacy before seeing the “orders come out.”