The Harris campaign misstated Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s congressional accomplishments in a statement widely reported by the corporate media.
Harris campaign spokesman James Singer falsely said that Walz served as chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee during his tenure as a federal lawmaker in a statement addressing the “stolen valor” scandal swirling around Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Walz was only ever the committee’s ranking member, and the statement was reported by outlets including The Associated Press, Axios, Politico, PBS and NBC News.
“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 champion for our veterans and military families,” Singer said in the statement.
J.D. Vance slams Tim Walz’s “shameful” exit from the military upon learning of his battalion’s upcoming deployment to Iraq pic.twitter.com/iSwfuWEIR2
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 7, 2024
Walz was a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and he became the top Democrat on the committee in 2017. However, Democrats were in the minority at that time, meaning that he was the ranking member on the committee, not the chair.
The Harris campaign’s biography page for Walz notes that he was the ranking member of the committee. The website makes no reference to Walz ever having chaired the committee.
After his two years as the committee’s ranking member, Walz left the House to run for governor of Minnesota. Walz won that election, and subsequently won reelection, before Harris tapped him to be her running mate in the 2024 presidential contest against former President Donald Trump and Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Walz’s military service record has come under considerable scrutiny in recent days. Walz was a member of the Minnesota National Guard for 24 years and deployed to Italy in 2003, according to The Washington Post, but he has been accused by other veterans of retiring from the force and running for Congress once it became apparent that the unit could be deployed to Iraq.
An official 2005 press release issued by Walz’s congressional campaign featured a quote from Walz that demonstrates he knew there was at least a chance that his unit could be sent to Iraq. At a Wednesday press conference in Michigan, Vance — a U.S. Marine who deployed to Iraq — called Walz out for not deploying with the rest of his unit and accused the Minnesota governor of “stolen valor.”
Walz has also used language in the past that could lead one to believe that he deployed to a war zone. For example, in 2018 remarks about gun control, Walz said that “we can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at.”
Walz also has drawn fire for possibly misrepresenting his rank, having referred to himself as a retired command sergeant major when he was only conditionally promoted to that rank before failing to complete the training required to permanently obtain it, the Minnesota National Guard told Just the News on Wednesday. The Harris campaign quietly altered its biography page for Walz to reflect this nuance on Thursday.
The Harris campaign did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Featured image credit. (Screenshot Office of the Governor of Minnesota/YouTube)
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