(TheIndependentStar.com) – Presumptive Democratic nominee for the presidential race, Kamala Harris, finally spoke about her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, when asked about his service in the National Guard.
When a reporter asked Harris about Walz’s criticism of “deserting his own troops, deserting his own colleagues” when he opted to retire from the Minnesota National Guard in May 2005, she did nothing but praise him.
“Listen, I praise anyone who has presented themselves to serve our country,” Harris said. “And I think that we all should.”
Walz served 24 years in the Minnesota National Guard before retiring to run for the House of Representatives in the state’s 1st Congressional District.
He then unseated incumbent Republican Gil Gutknecht in that race, in which Walz made his opposition to the Iraq war a centerpiece of his campaign.
Moreover, the Minnesota governor joined the National Guard after high school and had served in the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery, prior to his retirement.
However, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance accused Walz of embellishing his military service.
“He said we shouldn’t allow weapons that I used in war to be on America’s streets,” Vance claimed in Michigan. “Well, I wonder. Tim Walz, when were you ever in war?
“What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you’re not,” added Vance, a Marine Corps veteran.
Vance was referencing a recently resurfaced clip of Walz from 2018, in which he argued: “We can research the impacts of gun violence. We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war.”
Additionally, the Harris-Walz campaign removed another disputed claim about the governor’s service from his official biography on their website on Thursday, stating Walz had retired as a command sergeant major.
Walz had not completed the required coursework to reach the rank of command sergeant major and thus retired as a master sergeant.
According to CNN, Joe Biden also expressed admiration for Walz, telling his former campaign staffers in Wilmington, Delaware, “When you get to know him, he’s the real deal.”
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