Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, responded to the “defamatory” accusations at a labor union conference Tuesday afternoon after a fierce debate with Republicans over his own military service.
Walz took to the stage at the 46th International Convention of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union in Los Angeles, California, where he responded to criticism of the timing of his retirement from the Minnesota National Guard in 2005 by saying he was “very proud” of his own military service and stressed that “no one should belittle the military record of others.” (Related story: Trump insiders say attack on Waltz's lies about service is just beginning)
“These people are even attacking me because of my military history. I just want to say that I am proud to have served my country and always will be,” Walz said. “At my father's encouragement, who served in the Army during the Korean War, I enlisted in the National Guard two days after my 17th birthday and for the next 24 years I served for the same reason all of my brothers and sisters who have served in uniform do – because we love this country. Then in 2005, I felt a call to serve my country again, this time in Congress. My students encouraged me to run for that office and I'm proud that I made it to Washington.”
After Waltz was selected as the Democratic presidential nominee by Vice President Kamala Harris, Republicans including former President Donald Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, accused him of “defamation” by alleging that Waltz left his battalion in 2005 after learning he would be deployed to Iraq. Vance's comments came after the Harris campaign released a video in 2018 in which he claimed Waltz had “carried” weapons “in a war” while speaking about gun control.
“I have been a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee and an advocate for our men and women in uniform. Let me say this again as clearly as I can: I am incredibly proud of my service to this country and I firmly believe we should never disparage the military record of others. To anyone who has bravely served our great country, including my opponent, let me just say one thing: thank you for your service and sacrifice,” Walz added.
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Two veterans who claim to have served with Waltz's battalion, Maj. Thomas Behrens and Paul Hare, also publicly criticized the Minnesota governor in a 2018 letter for “betraying his country” by leaving the unit before it was deployed to Iraq. According to In the New York Post.
Additionally, the Harris-Waltz campaign website quietly edited the Minnesota governor's title last week from “retired Master Sergeant” to “served as Master Sergeant.”
Vance responded to Walz's public comments on Tuesday. Posts As for X, Waltz said, “I shouldn't have lied about that.”
“Tim, thank you for your service, but you should not have lied. You didn't say you were in war when you weren't. And you didn't say you didn't know our unit was going to Iraq. I look forward to discussing this further on the forum,” Vance wrote.
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