This week, questions about Tim Walz, Minnesota’s governor, being dishonest to the public about his time in the Minnesota Army National Guard amounted to theft of valor.
Vice President Kamala Harris selected Walz as her running partner for this year’s race in November, which has led to more investigation of Walz’s remarks regarding his more than two decades in the military.
A reporter repeatedly yelled at Walz as he was standing on the tarmac before a campaign event, inquiring as to whether Walz had an answer to GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s charges that Walz had stolen valor.
What concerns me the most about Tim Walz? I complied with the request of the U.S. Marine Corps to serve my nation in Iraq. Tim Walz left the Army and allowed his unit to travel to Iraq without him, as requested by his nation. Regarding the matter, Vance said, “I believe that’s shameful.”
Despite Walz’s deployment to Italy, he did not participate in the War on Terror in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Ignoring the reporter’s inquiry, Walz and Harris left the media area.
Vance is by no means the first veteran or member of the armed forces to have expressed disapproval of Walz’s choice to depart from his unit before the Iraqi deployment. Members of the same unit have publicly said that Walz abandoned them during a critical period.
According to an Alpha News article from 2022, Paul Herr, who served with Walz, claimed to be a “habitual liar” who would “say anything to anybody to make it look like he’s going to do the greatest thing for you.”
Veterans also take issue with Walz because, despite never having been in combat, he has claimed to have carried weapons into battle.
REPORTER: Your response to allegation of stolen valor?
WALZ: *ignores*
REPORTER: Your response to allegation of stolen valor!?
WALZ: *runs away* pic.twitter.com/el3sPGDYuM
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 7, 2024
In support of gun regulation, Walz remarked, “We can make sure the weapons of war, those I carried in combat, are in those areas where those weapons are out.” During the War on Terror, Walz was dispatched to Italy but did not see action in Afghanistan or Iraq.
