Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is seeking to tout her state’s governor, Tim Walz, and his record now that he has been named Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s running mate.
During an interview on CNN, Smith noted Walz’s service in the military and then tried to take a shot at Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), the Republican vice presidential nominee.
However, her criticism went awry when she had her facts wrong.
“Here is Tim Walz who enlisted when he was 17 years old, he served in the National Guard for 24-years,” Smith said.
She added, “And I’m not aware of any military service that J.D. Vance has ever served, so let’s just make the comparison there.”
Watch the video below:
Journalist Jim Acosta chimed, “Well, he was in the Marines.”
“Yeah, OK, pardon me for that,” Smith responded.
According to the military news site Task & Purpose, Vance joined the Marines in 2003 and served as a combat correspondent until 2007.
USA Today notes, “For the last nine months of his service, Vance was the media relations officer for the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, North Carolina, one of the largest military bases on the East Coast.”
