Kamala Harris‘ running mate Tim Walz gave a fiery defense of his military record as Republicans go on the attack accusing him of ‘stolen valor’ and abandoning his National Guard unit before it deployed to Iraq.
‘I’m going to say it as clearly as I can. I am damn proud of my service to this country,’ Walz said.
‘And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service records. To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice.’
The Democratic vice presidential nominee has been under fire by Republicans since joining the Harris ticket for his words about carrying a weapon in war and over when he left service.
‘I signed up for the Army National Guard two days after my 17th birthday. I served for the next 24 years for the same reason all my brothers and sisters in uniform do. We love this country,’ Walz said on Tuesday.
‘Then in 2005, I felt the call of duty again, this time being service to my country in the halls of Congress,’ he went on. He spoke of being a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee.
Kamala Harris running mate Governor Tim Walz responded to criticism of his military record on Tuesday, saying he is ‘damn proud’ of his service and believes people should never denigrate another person’s service record
Walz made the remarks during his first solo campaign stop since joining the Harris ticket when he gave a speech before the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) convention in Los Angeles.
His defense of his service record comes after Walz’s political opponent J.D. Vance went after him on the campaign trail over his record in the National Guard in an attack reminiscent of those leveled against John Kerry in 2004.
Walz retired from the National Guard in May 2005. At the time, his first congressional campaign said he planned to run despite a possible mobilization. Three months later, the Army issued the mobilization order for his unit which was sent to Iraq in 2006.
Vance told DailyMail.com last week it was ‘shameful’ for Walz to retire as his unit was preparing to go to war.
‘Your job as a senior enlisted guy in a unit is to keep your people safe. That’s not a job you can switch out of on a moment’s notice,’ Vance, who served in the U.S. Marines for four years, said in an interview.
‘So if he abandoned his troops before they went to Iraq or wherever … absolutely shameful.’
Republicans accuse Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of skipping out on his National Guard unit in 2005 to begin his political career just before it deployed to Iraq. He served 24 years after enlisting at the age of 17
During his service, Walz also achieved the rank of command sergeant major, but because he did not finish coursework before his retirement, he retired as a master sergeant for benefits purposes.
The Minnesota governor has also been criticized for speaking about carrying a weapon of war even though he was never deployed to a combat zone.
A clip posted by the Harris campaign included remarks from Walz in 2018 disucssing gun control where he said ‘We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at.’
The campaign clarified that Walz ‘misspoke’ when he mentioned handling weapons ‘in war.’
Vance, who also served as a U.S. responded to Walz on Tuesday on X.
‘Hi Tim, I thank you for your service. But you shouldn’t have lied about it. You shouldn’t have said you went to war when you didn’t. Nor should you have said that you didn’t know your unit was going to Iraq. Happy to discuss more in a debate,’ Vance wrote.
Walz used his appearance at the AFSCME convention in Los Angeles to go after Donald Trump’s record as a businessman and as president
Walz used his first solo appearance on Tuesday to also address his service as a teacher, noting that he was a dues paying teacher for years before an audience of members of the largest union of public service workers in the country.
‘I happen to be the first union member on a presidential ticket since Ronald Reagan,’ Walz told the crowd. ‘But rest assured, I won’t lose my way.’
He touted Harris service as vice president before turning his ire on Donald Trump as he takes on the role of attack dog in the Harris campaign.
‘You know Vice President Harris grew up in a middle class family, picked up shifts at that McDonald’s as a student,’ Walz said. ‘I keep asking this to make a contrast here. Can you simply picture Donald Trump working at a McDonald’s trying to make a McFlurry or something?’
Walz joked that Trump couldn’t run ‘that damn McFlurry machine’ as the crowd laughed.
He also accused the ex-president of stiffing service workers for decades as a businessman and cutting overtime benefits for millions of workers as president.
Walz will be making several more stops across the country as part of his first solo fundraising blitz this week after campaigning with Harris last week in battleground states.
