(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance, both 2024 contenders for vice president, are facing scrutiny over their military service, with Walz’s scandal receiving more attention—and rightfully so.
Walz served 20 years in the National Guard and re-enlisted for seven years after Sept. 11. He quit four years earlier and was demoted for not completing his service. Despite this, Walz used his former higher rank, sparking “stolen valor” accusations.
In a CNN interview on Wednesday, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., attempted to criticize Vance’s military record as compared to that of Walz. “I’m not aware of any military service that J.D. Vance has ever served, so let’s just make the comparison there,” Smith said, ignoring Vance’s four-year enlistment in the Marine Corps.
Top Harris surrogate @TinaSmithMN: I’m not aware of any military service that @JDVance has ever served.
(JD Vance served in the U.S. Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq) pic.twitter.com/h5YeBNDz0T
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 7, 2024
CNN anchor Alex Acosta, infamous for his bias against Republicans, corrected Smith by noting Vance’s Marine service. Smith, acknowledging her falsehood, replied, “Okay. Pardon me for that.”
The controversy embroiling Walz gained traction after a 2018 letter from National Guard members resurfaced on Tuesday.
The letter criticized Walz for referring to himself as a “sergeant major,” a rank he held provisionally before his demotion as he left the Guard three years earlier than planned, leading to the demotion.
Walz is also under fire after he suggested that the weapons he “carried in war” must not be in American streets. But he never served in combat, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
Some media outlets falsely reported that Walz had served in Iraq. He left the guard shortly before their deployment to the Middle East.
Bloomberg reporter Joshua Green came under fire for stealth-editing a piece to state Walz had served in Italy instead of Iraq.
In response to the error and subsequent edit, Daily Caller editor-in-chief Geoffrey Ingersoll questioned Green about the details behind his false reporting.
“Which deployment specifically that his unit did to Italy counted as ‘in support of enduring freedom’? Or are we just accepting this as true because the campaign is saying it?” Ingersoll tweeted.
Josh, you and I both know this does not suffice for a correction. How was the error even made? You made this same error once before after talking to Walz, when you worked for the Atlantic, did it simply carry over?
Which deployment specifically that his unit did to Italy counted… https://t.co/GSjDDw98vi
— Geoffrey Ingersoll (@GPIngersoll) August 7, 2024
According to the Media Research Center, MSNBC host Chris Hayes and CNN anchor Brianna Keilar defended Walz, accusing Republicans of “swift boating” the Minnesota governor.
Like it’s 2004 again. “Getting some Swift boat vibes here.” CNN’s Brianna @brikeilarcnn trying to discredit criticism of Tim Walz by JD Vance. pic.twitter.com/db7cTBfetg
— Brent Baker 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) August 7, 2024
