CNN
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, defended his military service in a speech in Los Angeles on Tuesday, saying he was “damn proud” of his service in the Army National Guard.
In his speech at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ union convention, Walz responded to attacks by Republicans, including Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, who accused him of misrepresenting his military record and falsely suggesting that he had evaded overseas deployment.
“These guys … even attack me because of my time in service, and I just want to say that I am proud to have served my country and I always will be,” he said, drawing loud applause from the audience.
Walz described his time in the military, beginning with enlisting in the Nebraska Army National Guard at age 17 and serving a total of 24 years in the National Guard. He also praised his work on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee as a congressman.
“I’ll say it again as clearly as I can: I’m damn proud of my service to this country and I firmly believe that you should never belittle another person’s service,” he said.
“To anyone brave enough to wear this uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I have just a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice,” Walz said.
Walz is defending his record after Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign admitted Saturday that he “slipped of the tongue” at a 2018 campaign rally when he said he had handled assault rifles “in war.” After the Harris campaign released video of the 2018 remarks last week, Vance, who served in the Marine Corps, accused Walz of “stolen valor.”
In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday, Vance defended his attacks on Walz, arguing that he was criticizing Walz’s statements about his career, not his actions while in office.
“I’m not criticizing Tim Walz’s service; I’m criticizing the fact that he lied about his service for political reasons,” the Ohio senator said on the “State of the Union” program.
Walz also faced criticism from Republicans and some veterans who served with him for retiring before an overseas deployment shortly before he ran for Congress. Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Doug Julin, Walz’s boss and a longtime critic of the Minnesota governor, told CNN’s Laura Coates on Friday that Walz avoided deployment to Iraq by retiring months before his scheduled deployment.
