KAMALA Harris has hit back at criticisms that her running mate Tim Walz exaggerated details of his National Guard service and dodged the Iraq war.
The Democratic nominee praised Walz after the Minnesota governor was accused of "ducking war" by rival VP candidate JD Vance for retiring before his unit served in a combat zone.
As Harris publicly praised her running mate, her campaign modified its website to reflect the fact that Walz's rank was reduced after he left the service.
Walz retired from the Minnesota National Guard in May 2005, before his battalion received notice in August that they were deploying to Iraq.
He retired from the military with the rank of command sergeant major - but was reduced in rank months after his retirement, leaving him as a master sergeant.
Despite being reduced in rank, Walz has publicly referred to himself as a retired command sergeant major multiple times.
Harris defended her running mate's service to reporters on Thursday.
“Listen, I praise anyone who has presented themselves to serve our country. And I think that we all should," Harris said.
This comes as...
- Trump blasts Harris for dodging press calling her ‘too dumb’ to do interviews
- Leaked audio reveals Trump's contradicting conversation with Walz
- Taylor Swift fans insist she's endorsed Kamala Harris
- JD Vance blasts Walz as 'shameful'
- MSNBC’s Joy Reid sparks fury over comment as she reveals who would’ve been better Harris veep pick
The Harris-Walz campaign website also changed Walz's official biography in an apparent reaction to the criticism about how he presented his rank at retirement.
The website previously referred to Walz as a "retired command sergeant major."
However, it now says he rose to the rank of command sergeant major.
National Guard officials told The U.S. Sun that Walz retired before fulfilling coursework requirements for the command sergeant major rank.
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, slammed Walz on Wednesday and accused him of embellishing his time in the military.
“What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage," he continued.
"Do not pretend to be something that you’re not."
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz served a total of 24 years in the Army National Guard.
He served from April 8, 1981, to May 16, 2005.
For the first 15 years of his time in the military, he served in the Nebraska National Guard before transferring to the Minnesota National Guard's 1st Battalion.
"While serving in Minnesota, his military occupational specialties were 13B - a cannon crewmember who operates and maintains cannons and 13Z -field artillery senior sergeant," Army Lt. Col. Kristen Augé, Minnesota National Guard’s State Public Affairs Officer," told The U.S. Sun.
"In Nebraska, he served as a 11Z - infantry senior sergeant, and a 71L - administrative specialist. He held multiple positions within field artillery such as firing battery chief, operations sergeant, first sergeant, and culminated his career serving as the command sergeant major for the battalion.
"He retired as a master sergeant in 2005 for benefit purposes because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy."
Claims that Walz has embellished his record of service have been around since he was a congressman.
A resurfaced video from 2009 shows Walz, who was a congressman at the time, giving a farewell speech to a group of soldiers deploying for Iraq.
In the video, he refers to himself as a "retired command sergeant major."
Walz also claimed that he served in war at a campaign event in 2018, when he was running for governor.
Well, I wonder. Tim Walz, when were you ever in war?"
JD Vance
"We can research the impacts of gun violence," he said in front of a crowd.
"We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war.”
Vance directly referenced that video in his remarks on Wednesday.
“He said we shouldn’t allow weapons that I used in war to be on America’s streets,” Vance said.
The following is a timeline of Tim Walz's service in the military, according to the National Guard:
April 8, 1981 - Tim Walz began his service in the Nebraska National Guard
1996 - Transfer to the Minnesota National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery
August 3, 2003 - Walz's battalion mobilized to support Operation Enduring Freedom, which supported security missions at various locations in Europe and Turkey. He was stationed at Vicenza, Italy.
April 2004 - Walz returned to Minnesota
May 16, 2005 - Walz retired as a master sergeant in 2005 for benefit purposes because he did not complete additional coursework
July 14, 2005 - Minnesota National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery received an alert order for mobilization to Iraq
“Well, I wonder. Tim Walz, when were you ever in war?"
Both vice presidential candidates in the 2024 presidential election have a military background.
Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2003 and served for four years as a combat correspondent, including a six-month non-combat deployment in Iraq between 2005 and 2006.
Republican nominee Donald Trump received four educational deferments from serving in the military during the Vietnam War and one medical deferment after a doctor claimed he had bone spurs in his feet.
Trump has repeatedly come under fire for the deferments throughout his political career, and the daughters of the doctor who diagnosed him have claimed their dad fabricated the bone spurs as a favor to Trump's father, the doctor's landlord, The New York Times reported.
Trump was the first US president without any military or government experience.
Harris has no military background.
In response to Vance’s comments, the Harris campaign told The Washington Post that Walz carried, fired, and trained with the "weapons of war" and trained others on how to use “weapons of war innumerable times.”
“Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country," the campaign said.
"In fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country."
