When Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz’s military lies were exposed, mainstream media rushed to his defense.
Journalists have tried to discredit the right’s latest attack line, suing Waltz for defamation and reviving an old debate about “Swift Boats,” a term that originated during the 2004 Bush-Kerry campaign, when Republican political activist Chris LaCivita organized Swift Boat Vietnam Veterans to help scrutinize John Kerry’s military record and the stories he told after returning home.
Despite the media’s best efforts, the attacks on Waltz’s years of lies haven’t subsided, a Trump campaign source told The Daily Caller. LaCivita, who now runs the Trump campaign, and his staff will continue to attack the message, using veteran Sen. J.D. Vance of the Trump campaign to “expose Waltz’s military record.” (RELATED: Tim Waltz appears to ignore shoutout questions about ‘stolen honor’ accusations)
“There is more than enough evidence to prove that his honor was stolen from him, and we will make sure the American people know about it, especially our great veterans and service members who honorably answered the call to serve overseas when their country called them to do so,” a Trump campaign spokesperson told Caller.
“And there is no better voice to underscore that than Senator Vance, who served honorably in the United States Marine Corps, deployed to Iraq at the call of his country,” the spokesman continued.
A source familiar with the campaign’s thinking agreed with the spokesman, adding that Vance’s personal history makes him the perfect platform to expose Walz’s record.
Today I enjoyed sitting down with three major networks to answer the tough questions that every leader must answer: Kamala Harris has had as many tough interviews as Tim Walz has been deployed to battlefields.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 11, 2024
Walz’s military experience came to light after the Harris campaign shared a 2018 video in which the governor promoted gun control and said the “weapons of war that I carried in the war” should only be used in combat. Social media users were quick to point out that the governor never served in combat.
Waltz served in the Minnesota National Guard for 24 years and deployed to Italy in 2003. According to According to The Washington Post, veterans who served in the governor’s unit previously Accused When his Iraq deployment became public in 2018, it was announced that he would be leaving the National Guard to run for Congress. (RELATED: Speaker Pelosi praises Walz for serving ‘on the battlefield’ in resurfaced video)
Harris’ current running mate was in March 2005 press release He acknowledged that he and his unit might be deployed to Iraq and suggested he would be available if asked, then a few months later, Waltz left the unit before it was deployed.
Vance also accused the governor of having his “honor stolen.”
“As a Marine who served my country in uniform, when the United States Marine Corps asked me to go to Iraq and serve my country, I answered the call,” Vance said. “I did so honorably and at their request, and I am very proud of that service. When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, guess what he did? He quit the military and let his unit go without him, a fact that has been heavily criticized by many who served with him.”
The media portrayed the attacks on Walz as disingenuous or unimportant.
In 2004, LaCivita founded Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that cast doubt on Kerry’s record in the Vietnam War, and the mainstream media has since cast the Swift Boat as a symbol of dirty politics. Politiconoted that this tactic could be used again in the 2024 elections, arguing that “the attacks are being focused on the vice principal candidate, not the principal.”
Bloomberg Posts On August 6, The Washington Post ran a feature article about Governor Waltz that erroneously stated that he had been deployed to Iraq, then quietly updated the article to say that he had been deployed to Italy, and eventually corrected it.
NPR Painted It criticized “Swiftvoting” as an “unfair or false political attack” and confused the 2004 election with the 2024 election, writing that while candidates in the 2004 election sought to be “wartime presidents,” Walz is not a front-runner and is therefore unlikely to face the same amount of scrutiny.
“They know this is going to be a huge burden, so they’re trying desperately to protect him,” a source with knowledge of the campaign’s thinking told Caller.
Wow, that’s amazing. (Also, OEF was in Afghanistan, not Iraq.)
Waltz should be forced to confirm or deny whether he misled Bloomberg about his reporting. Joshua Greencontinues to report to this day that Waltz toured in Iraq.
And Mr. Greene should say publicly whether he was duped.
That’s wrong… https://t.co/CmDrwyJBxR pic.twitter.com/30MpUhpCut
— Jeffrey Ingersoll (@GPIngersoll) August 7, 2024
As veterans continue to speak out against Waltz’s misleading statements, LaCivita As shown in Politico He may revisit the old playbook.
“The two biggest sins in the military are claiming medals you didn’t receive and claiming credit for combat actions you didn’t take part in. … And here’s one thing for sure: he’s guilty of at least one of them,” LaCivita said. “None of his lies have been weaponized politically. That’s about to change.”
Since the unearthing of letters detailing his experiences with Walz, retired Minnesota National Guard Sergeant Thomas Berenz has been slamming the vice presidential candidate.
“The message that this sent to me was: turn around and run, and keep running — that means get under a rock, get the hell out of here, nobody wants to mention your name ever again, you’re tainted — you’re a traitor — at that point you’re a deserter,” Behrens, who replaced Waltz in the force, told Fox & Friends.
National Guardsman Thomas Behrens said of Tim Walz, “Everybody looks at him, they see his chameleon skin, they know this guy is a liar and a con man.”Rob Finnerty pic.twitter.com/gZ18pjCoff
— Newsmax (@Newsmax) August 12, 2024
A Trump campaign spokesman suggested to Caller that more Waltz allies, such as Berenz, could be brought into the conversation.
“Senator Vance and our campaign will not only continue to condemn Tim Walz’s ‘stolen honor,’ but will also support the former military and veterans who feel disrespected by him and want a platform to speak out,” a Trump campaign spokesperson told the Caller.
Maj. Paul Hare, a former sergeant major with the Minnesota National Guard who co-wrote the letter with Behrens, also criticized Walz.
“He continues to claim he is retired. [sergeant] “He’s not a major. He’s a retired sergeant major,” Herr said. said The fox and his friends. (Related: Morgan Murphy: Tim Waltz Stole My Courage)
The Harris campaign removed Walz’s title of “retired Army Sergeant Major” from his biography on its website. Revealed He served as a master sergeant but was discharged as a sergeant major after failing to complete several years of duty to earn a promotion.
noEd Ryun, CEO American Majority Action A longtime Trump ally who served on the administration’s 1776 Commission told Caller that “Swiftvoting” would uncover the truth.
“The only dishonesty we have to talk about is about Waltz’s military service,” Ryun told The Caller. “‘Swiftboating’ isn’t dishonest; it’s about revealing the whole truth because corporate hucksters, as always, seem to have no interest in the truth or facts about anything.”
