JD Vance calls out Tim Walz for having 'lied about his service for political gain'

In a recent interview with CNN’s State of the Union, Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance once again called out his opponent Tim Walz for the controversy surrounding the military service of Kamala Harris' vice presidential pick. When asked by host Dana Bash, Vance clarified that his criticism was not aimed at Walz's service itself but rather at what he described as Walz's misleading portrayal of his military record for political gain.

“I honor his service and I never criticized what Tim Walz did when he was in the military,” Vance stated. “I criticized his retirement decision. And most importantly, Dana, I criticized his lying about his own record.”

Vance went on to accuse Walz of falsely implying that he had seen combat during his time in the National Guard. 

“This is a guy who’s captured on video saying ‘I carried a gun in war.’ He never went to war. This is a guy who’s been captured on video as other people say ‘he’s an Afghanistan veteran’ ‘he’s a veteran of a war’ nodding in agreement instead of saying, 'no, no, no, I did serve my country and I did it honorably, but I never went to a war zone,” Vance said.

"I’m not criticizing Tim Walz’s service. I’m criticizing the fact that he lied about his service for political gain."

The controversy surrounding Walz's military service has been a focal point in the media since he was selected as Kamala Harris's running mate. Walz served in the National Guard, but was never deployed to a combat zone. As his battalion was preparing to be mobilized for active duty in Iraq in 2005, Walz quit the Guard to pursue a political career, a decision that has led to accusations of abandoning his duties to avoid combat. Walz has also been accused of “stolen valor.”

Vance, who served in the US Marines and was deployed to Iraq, has been vocal in his criticism of Walz’s decision to retire just as his battalion was about to be deployed, which was reportedly four years into his six-year reenlistment. Vance has labeled Walz’s actions as “absolutely shameful,” arguing that Walz abandoned his troops at a critical moment.