Kamala Harris' running mate Tim Walz was criticized on Wednesday by rival JD Vance for being “dishonest” about his services.
During a speech at a campaign stop in Michigan, Vance accused him of abandoning Army National Guard service in Iraq and running for Congress in 2005.
“When the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what I was asked to do, and I did it honorably and I’m very proud of that service. When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He left the Army and allowed his unit to go without him,” Vance said. CNN.
The Republican vice presidential candidate went on to say that he also lied about his service, claiming he was serving in a combat zone when he was in the Army National Guard.
“He said that we – and he was referring to gun control – 'should not allow the weapons that I used in the war to be on the streets of America,'” Vance said of Walz.
Earlier Tuesday, Harris' campaign promoted a video in which Walz discussed his decision to reverse his position and support an assault weapons ban after the 2018 Parkland shooting.
“We can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried in the war are the only place they are,” Walz said in the video.
Talking with CNNWhite House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to Vance's criticism when asked about it Wednesday.
“This is someone who enlisted at 17 to serve his country. He was in the Army National Guard for 24 years. He was a high school teacher, right?” Jean-Pierre said. “He was also a high school coach, he grew up in a small town in the Midwest, so I think his biography speaks for itself, who he is speaks for itself, his record speaks for itself, and I’m not going to say any more than that.”
Additionally, the 60-year-old had also previously been criticized for his departure from the National Guard by his Republican opponent, Star Tribune reported.
Talking to him Minnesota NewspaperWalz defended his serve.
“We all do what we can. I’m proud to have done it for 24 years,” Walz replied. “I have an honorable record.”
Joseph Eustice, a 32-year veteran who led the same battalion as Walz, told the Star Tribune in 2022 that Walz did nothing wrong when he left the Guard.
“He was a great soldier,” Eustice said. “When he decided to leave, he had every right to do so.”
