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Join Telegram ChannelDemocratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose military service has come under scrutiny, “misspoke” in a 2018 video in which he is heard discussing his handling of weapons “in wartime,” a Harris campaign spokesman said Friday.
“Governor Walz will never insult or undermine an American’s service to his country. In fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. That’s the American way,” Harris’ campaign spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News.
“In explaining why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor was wrong. He has handled weapons of war and firmly believes that only military personnel trained to carry these deadly weapons should have access to them, unlike Donald Trump and JD Vance who prioritize the gun lobby over our children,” the spokesperson added.
I served with Tim Walz as a Republican in the House of Representatives. He will be a good vice president.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a campaign event on August 7. (Andrew Harnik)
The 2018 music video shows Walz discussing gun control and referencing his own military background.
“We can make sure that these weapons of war, that I carried in the war, are the only place that these weapons are,” Walz said in the clip, which was released by the Harris campaign on Tuesday.
Republicans, led by vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, have criticized Walz's military service. Walz served 24 years in the National Guard but was never deployed to a war zone. In 2003, he deployed with his unit to Vicenza, Italy, to support Operation Enduring Freedom, the name of the war in Afghanistan.
Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said Walz's campaign was working to “clean up its own mess.”
“Why won’t Tim Walz address his own lies? Why does he need to send low-level spokespeople to fix his own mistakes? Walz is a liar and a fraud, and Kamala chose a running mate who shares his own vile values,” Cheung said.
Walz retired from the Army in 2005, several months before the unit deployed to Iraq.
Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, accused Walz of “stealing courage.”
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“I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you in war?” Vance asked at an event in Michigan. “What was that weapon you took to war? What bothers me about Tim Walz is this stupidity of stolen bravery. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not.”
“I would be ashamed if I were him and lied about my military service like he did,” he added.