Democrat vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz is getting called out by the leftist Washington Post for his false claim that he carried weapons “in war.”
In a 2018 video put out by the Harris campaign on Tuesday, Walz, who served in the National Guard for 24 years, was speaking about gun control when he made the comments that have since triggered widespread allegations of stolen valor.
Gov. @Tim_Walz: I spent 25 years in the Army and I hunt. I’ve been voting for common sense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks. We can research the impacts of gun violence. We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war,… pic.twitter.com/3IVaXi2RP2
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 6, 2024
“And we can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at,” he said in the video, though he never served in a combat zone.
Post fact checker Glenn Kessler, at the very end of his article “Assessing claims about Tim Walz’s military service,” wrote, “There is no evidence that Walz served in combat.”
Kessler added a seemingly odd caveat that Walz “has not claimed he did,” considering Kessler was writing in the context of Walz’s claim of carrying weapons “in war.”
WATCH — CNN’s Zeleny: We’ll See if Walz Answers Questions on Military Record, “if He Ever Takes Questions”:
“Walz’s language was sloppy and false. He did carry weapons of war — just not in war,” Kessler wrote in his official “assessment” of the comments.
Walz is also facing scrutiny over his rank, as Breitbart News reported:
Walz served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and retired at the rank of master sergeant, or an E-8. However, on his official website bio, he lists a higher rank that he served at for a short period that ultimately was rescinded, as he did not complete all the requirements to serve at that rank. However, his bio implies that he retired at the rank of command sergeant major, or an E-9.
Kessler wrote in his assessment that the claim Walz lied about his rank and committed stolen valor “is on the line.”
“He did achieve the title he has claimed, for a total of seven months, but it would be more accurate to say he ‘served as command sergeant major’ rather than claim the title outright,” Kessler concluded.
