Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz admitted during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate that he was not in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests and subsequent massacre in the spring of 1989.

APM Reports, the investigative and documentary division of MPR News, first reported that Walz’s claim during a 2014 congressional hearing on the 25th anniversary of the massacre was inconsistent with media reports from 1989.

During a 2009 congressional hearing and in a 2019 radio interview, Walz also suggested that he was in Hong Kong during the protests and massacre.

CBS News anchors asked Walz about his previous comments.

“You said you were in Hong Kong during the deadly Tiananmen Square protests in 1989,” said Margaret Brennan, host of Face the Nation on CBS News. “But Minnesota Public Radio and other media outlets are reporting that you actually traveled to Asia as recently as August of this year. Can you explain this discrepancy?”

Walz responded to the question by saying that he “misworded,” that “he wasn’t perfect” and that “he was a jerk at times.” He also said he insisted he was in the country during the pro-democracy protests.

“All I said about it was I got there this summer and I made a mistake, so I’m just going to — that’s what I said,” Walz said. “I was in Hong Kong and China when the democracy protests took place. And in doing so, I learned a lot about what you have to do, which is governance.”

Walz first visited China in 1989 as part of the non-profit organization World Teach. News reports at the time said Walz was preparing to leave for China in August, two months after the spring massacre. Another newspaper showed Walz visiting a Nebraska National Guard armory in May.

During his time as a high school teacher in Nebraska and Minnesota, Walz later organized and chaperoned field trips for high school students. He has said in the past that he has visited China 30 times, but a campaign spokesman confirmed to APM Reports that Walz’s visits to the Asian country were closer to 15 times.

Walz appeared in the only scheduled vice presidential debate Tuesday night against Republican candidate JD Vance.

During the debate, Walz said he learned a lot from his trips to China and used the time to criticize former President Donald Trump.

“I would argue that Donald Trump should have come with us on one of those trips,” Walz said. “I guarantee you he wouldn’t praise (Chinese President) Xi Jinping over COVID and he wouldn’t start a trade war that he would end up losing.”