Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) was responding to comments made by CNN host Brianna Keilar on Thursday in which she criticized fellow vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), for lying about his military service.
Unlike Waltz, Vance deployed to Iraq while in the Marines, and both Vance and other members of Waltz’s National Guard unit say that when Waltz left the military, he abandoned a unit that was being prepared for Iraq, even though Waltz had publicly said he intended to deploy with his men.
“I got the call to go to Iraq, so I went.”
“I also think that J.D. Vance may be an imperfect communicator on this because, as you introduced it, his title was combat correspondent. But when you dig a little deeper, he was a public relations professional who had never seen combat. Certainly, the title of combat correspondent gives off a different vibe in some ways. So he may be an imperfect communicator on this,” Keeler said.
Keilar’s comments drew swift condemnation from President Donald Trump’s campaign.
“Brianna, this is horrible. You and your entire network should be ashamed of yourself. When I got the call to go to Iraq, I went. Tim Waltz said he had a gun in the war. Did he really? No, that’s a lie,” Vance said. Said in response to the CNN host.
Walz also allegedly misrepresented his military experience, claiming to have “carried weapons of war in a war” when he never deployed to a combat zone during his 24-year career in the National Guard. Veterans who served in Afghanistan have also taken issue with Walz’s claim that he is an Operation Enduring Freedom veteran. One Afghanistan veteran visited Walz’s Minnesota office, where he was then a congressman, to tell staff about his experience.
The label was potentially misleading to civilians, and despite agreement to do something about it, nothing was done to make Waltz’s mission clearer.
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