Kamala Harris' presidential campaign is admitting that her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, "misspoke" about his military record, including in a 2018 video that the campaign circulated with him speaking about handling weapons used "in war."
"Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country," the campaign said in a statement to NBC News Friday, coming after Republicans, led by vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, attacked the governor over comments he's made about his military record.
"He thanks Sen. Vance for putting his life on the line for our country," the campaign said in its statement. "It’s the American way."
But, the Harris campaign said, Walz "misspoke" while "making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms."
Walz, a 24-year veteran of the Minnesota National Guard, "did handle weapons of war," the campaign said, adding that he "believes strongly that only military members trained to carry those deadly weapons should have access to them, unlike Donald Trump and J.D. Vance who prioritize the gun lobby over our children."
In the clip of Walz discussing gun control, Harris' VP pick said, "We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at."
Walz's time in the service included overseas deployments and support units, but he was never deployed to a combat zone.
Walz served in the National Guard for 24 years and was selected in 2004 to serve as command sergeant major of the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion. He retired in 2005, two months before his unit received alert orders to deploy to Iraq, announcing he was running for Congress, reports CNN.
Walz's military record, which was reviewed by CBS News, shows that the governor had earned the rank of command sergeant major. However, his rank was reduced after he retired because he failed to complete additional coursework for the United States Army Sergeants Majors Academy.
The rank reduction, coming several months after his retirement, left Walz as a master sergeant for benefits purposes, reports ABC News.
Meanwhile, Vance, R-Ohio, served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps as an enlisted combat correspondent, working in public affairs, reports CNN. He was deployed once to Iraq for roughly six months and left the military in September 2007 at the rank of corporal.
Vance has accused his rival for the vice presidency of "stolen valor."
"What bothers me about Tim Walz is this stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you’re not," Vance said at an event in Michigan. "I’d be ashamed if I was him and I lied about my military service like he did.”
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told NBC News that he questions why Walz didn't "address his lies himself."
"Why does he need to send out lowly spokespeople to clean up his own mess?" Cheung said.
Harris on Thursday, responding to growing accusations of "stolen valor" concerning her running mate, said she praises him for serving in the National Guard.
"Listen, I praise anyone who has presented themselves to serve our country, and I think that we all should," Harris said Thursday, responding to a reporter who asked her to respond to criticism that the Minnesota governor "deserted his own troops, deserted his own colleagues."
The campaign has also tweaked Walz's biography on its website, where it no longer says he retired as a command sergeant major, only that he had served as one.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.