Bloomberg News ran a profile on Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (Democrat), Vice President Kamala Harris’ new running mate, noting that he served in Italy, not Iraq, during his time in the National Guard.
Waltz faces charges of “defamation” after falsely claiming to have carried a weapon in a “war” and that he retired from the National Guard as a command sergeant when in fact he retired one rank lower, as a sergeant major.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) accused Waltz of “defamation” on Wednesday after he attacked him the day before for attending Yale Law School and for resigning from the National Guard to avoid deployment to Iraq.
What really bothers me about Tim Waltz?
When the U.S. Marines asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I accepted.
When Tim Waltz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, he quit the Army and let his troops go without him, and I think that’s disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/Dq9xjn4R51
— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 7, 2024
CNN belatedly realized on Wednesday that Walz had exaggerated his own military service in the “war,” and pointed out that this was a mistake.
CNN reporting on Governor Tim Walz:
“Mr. Waltz did make comments, he has done so on multiple occasions, and he used language that suggests he was in possession of a weapon in a combat situation. There is no evidence that he was in a position to be shot, and some of the language he used…” pic.twitter.com/o7gEPW5Xj3
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) August 7, 2024
Bloomberg News, which ran a profile of Waltz by Joshua Green, also updated the article with a correction. report Waltz previously served in Iraq, but it is unclear whether he told him this or if it was simply his own mistake.
Green is written Waltz served in Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom, a reference not just to Afghanistan but the broader War on Terror. The article was corrected on Wednesday with an annotation to say that Waltz served in Italy.
My Waltz newsletter yesterday incorrectly stated that he served in Iraq, which he did not. He served in Italy. My mistake. The article has been corrected online and on my device. https://t.co/H7ct8Rj7Yp https://t.co/r581UO90oc pic.twitter.com/yD3b8udiiR
— Joshua Green (JoshuaGreen.bsky.social on ) (@JoshuaGreen) August 7, 2024
The question remains whether Waltz will have to correct his own statements as the media corrects its own reporting. Reporters have begun asking about this at White House press conferences and on the campaign trail. Only time will tell.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
