(LibertySociety.com) – Democrat vice presidential candidate Tim Walz defended his military record in a campaign speech in Los Angeles on August 13 by falsely accusing Republicans of attacking his military service and saying he was proud of his service.
Republicans, including vice presidential nominee JD Vance, have not attacked Tim Walz for his more than 20 years in the National Guard. Instead, they have called attention to the false claims Walz has made about his service throughout his political career, including his claim that he served in Operation Enduring Freedom and that he carried an assault weapon “in war.”
Walz has also repeatedly claimed that he retired from the National Guard with the rank of Command Sergeant Major, a claim that has been disputed by the former commander of Walz’s National Guard unit.
Vance has accused Walz of “stolen valor” and lying about his military service. He has also accused Walz of retiring from the National Guard to avoid being deployed with his unit to Iraq, an accusation many in Walz’s former unit have echoed.
The Harris campaign recently released a statement admitting that Governor Walz “misspoke” when he claimed to have carried a weapon “in war.” However, the campaign has not addressed the other false or misleading statements Walz has made.
During his first solo campaign appearance in Los Angeles, Walz said he signed up for the National Guard after turning 17 and served for 24 years because he loved his country.
Without addressing the specific accusations, Walz said he was “damn proud” of his service. Saying he was someone who believed that nobody should “denigrate another person’s service record,” Walz said he had “a few simple words” for his opponent JD Vance: “Thank you for your service and sacrifice.”
The Republican vice presidential candidate responded to Walz’s remarks in a post on X. Like Walz, Vance thanked his opponent for his service but added that Walz should not have lied about it.
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