by Nick Pope
Harris’ campaign misrepresented Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s congressional record in a statement widely distributed to corporate media.
Harris campaign spokesman James Singer falsely claimed that Walz served as chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee during his tenure as a federal lawmaker, in a statement addressing the “theft of valor” scandal surrounding the vice president Kamala Harris vice presidential candidate. Walz was always the highest-ranking member of the committee, and the statement was reported by media outlets, including Associated Press Press Agency, Axial, Political, PBS AND NBC News.
“After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired the Veterans Affairs Committee and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform — and as Vice President of the United States, he will continue to be a tenacious advocate for our veterans and military families,” Singer said in a statement.
JD Vance slams Tim Walz’s ‘shameful’ departure from the military after learning of his battalion’s impending deployment to Iraq photo:twitter.com/iSwfuWEIR2
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 7, 2024
Walz was a member of the House of Representatives Committee on Veterans Affairs and became the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee in 2017. However, Democrats were in the minority at the time, meaning he was the committee’s most senior member, not its chairman.
Harris campaign biography page for Walz notes that he was the highest-ranking member of the committee. The website does not mention that Walz ever chaired a committee.
After two years on the committee, Walz left the House to run for governor of Minnesota. Walz won that election and then reelection before Harris chose him as her running mate in the 2024 presidential election against former President Donald Trump and Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance.
Walz’s military service record has come under intense scrutiny recently. Walz was a member of the Minnesota National Guard for 24 years and was deployed to Italy in 2003, According to to The Washington Post, but he was accused other veterans retired from service and ran for Congress when it became clear the unit might be sent to Iraq.
Official 2005 press release released by Walz’s congressional campaign included a quote from Walz that shows he knew there was at least a chance his unit could be sent to Iraq. At a news conference in Michigan on Wednesday, Vance — a U.S. Marine who was deployed to Iraq — called Walz was kicked out of the fight for failing to report with the rest of his unit and accused the Minnesota governor of “stealing his valor.”
Walz has also used language in the past that could suggest he was being sent to a war zone. For example, in 2018, in remarks on gun control, Walz he said that “we can be sure that the weapons of war I carried in the war are the only place where they are.”
Walz was also criticized for possibly misrepresenting his rank by presenting himself as a retired staff sergeant when he had only received a conditional promotion to that rank before completing the training required to make it eternal, Minnesota National Guard he said Just the News Wednesday: Harris Campaign Quiet changed Walz will reflect that nuance on his biographical page on Thursday.
Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Nick Pope is a reporter at the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Tim Walz” by Tim Waltz.
