Donald Trump’s campaign is taking aim at Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s military record in an effort reminiscent of the “swift boat” attacks that helped sink John Kerry’s White House run.
Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, was targeted by a group called “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” that released a series of ads accusing him of lying about his service — an infamous campaign that led to similar attacks being termed “swift boating.”
Military service is usually viewed as an asset in American politics, but Trump’s campaign — which is co-managed by Chris LaCivita, who was involved in the anti-Kerry effort — is trying to turn it into a drag on the Democratic ticket.
Trump — who avoided draft eligibility during the Vietnam War through multiple deferments — has amplified criticism of Walz on social media and branded him a “DISGRACE TO OUR COUNTRY,” while surrogates including running mate J.D. Vance have claimed Walz abandoned his unit before it deployed to Iraq.
Jeremy Teigen, a professor at Ramapo College who specializes in the politics of military service and veterans, said the attacks on Walz echo the swift boat campaign, but that the current context is different.
“The term ‘swift boating’ means to demean or criticize a political opponent’s time in uniform and that is broadly the intent of Vance’s attempt to diminish or cast Walz’s service in a bad light,” said Teigen, the author of “Why Veterans Run.”
But he noted that Kerry had made his military service a central part of his presidential candidacy during the 2004 wartime election, while Walz “has not made his service his core identity.”
Attacks could backfire
And while the attacks on Kerry were effective, Teigen said those on Walz may backfire, including because they could bring “renewed attention to former president Trump’s repeated evasions of conscription” during the Vietnam era.
Walz — the governor of Minnesota — served in the National Guard for more than 24 years.
“He held multiple positions within field artillery… and culminated his career serving as the command sergeant major” for his battalion, Minnesota National Guard spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Kristen Auge said in a statement.
Walz was mobilized in 2003 and deployed to Italy until 2004, with his battalion supporting “security missions at various locations in Europe and Turkey,” Auge said.
While Walz reached the rank of command sergeant major, he retired as a master sergeant “because he did not complete additional coursework at the US Army Sergeants Major Academy,” she said.
That situation provided one line of attack for Trump’s campaign, which has accused him of exaggerating his record by referring to the higher rank.
Retirement timing
Other criticism centers around the timing of Walz’s retirement.
Walz filed to run for Congress in February 2005. According to an archived copy of a statement his campaign issued the following month, the National Guard had said his battalion could be mobilized for service in Iraq within the next two years.
“I do not yet know if my artillery unit will be part of this mobilization,” Walz said in the statement, adding that he had a “responsibility not only to ready my battalion for Iraq, but also to serve if called on,” but did not intend to drop out of the race.
He retired from the National Guard in May 2005 and was elected to Congress the following year, while his unit was mobilized in October 2005 and deployed to Iraq at the end of March 2006.
Vance — who served as a combat correspondent, or uniformed reporter in the Marine Corps, and deployed to Iraq from 2005 to 2006 — attacked Walz over the timing of his retirement in remarks at a rally this week.
“When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did, he dropped out of the army and allowed his unit to go without him,” Vance said.
The Harris campaign has pushed back against the attack, saying in a statement that Walz “would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country.”
“In fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country,” the statement said.
