Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, chided CNN on Thursday after Brianna Keilar called him an "imperfect messenger" for criticizing the service record Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrat nominee for vice president.
On "Inside Politics," Keilar noted that Vance was a "combat correspondent" when he served as a Marine in Iraq.
"But when you dig a little deeper into that, he was a public affairs specialist, someone who did not see combat, which certainly the title 'combat correspondent' kind of gives you a different impression. So, he may be the imperfect messenger on that," Keilar said.
Vance has ripped Walz for embellishing his military record when he served in the National Guard and for retiring right before his unit deployed to Iraq.
"It's easy to sit in the comfort and safety of a CNN studio and trivialize the service of countless men and women who risked their lives," Vance posted on X. "Shameful of Brianna Keilar to slander an entire MOS."
Vance said Walz should be ashamed of lying about his military record.
"I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war?" Vance said at a campaign stop in Michigan on Wednesday. "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."
Keilar, who is married to an active-duty Green Beret, clarified her comments Thursday.
"J.D. Vance said he didn't see any real fighting. He said that in his book 'Hillbilly Elegy'," Keilar said. "I had said I wondered if J.D. Vance was an imperfect messenger for this because of that, not to question his service, because he served honorably and he served in a combat zone."