Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura (Independent) defended Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.)’s record amid attacks from Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) over his criticism of military service.
“I think Vance is doing a disservice to the United States Marine Corps because I know so many fine Marines and Sailors who are respectful.” Ventura said, “The only thing you get out of being a Marine is respect, and Vance needs to look in the mirror and act like a Marine,” he said on MSNBC on Saturday.
Waltz served in the Army National Guard for more than 20 years, while Vance served in the Marines.
Walz, who was named Harris’ running mate earlier this week, has been criticized for leaving the military before his troops were even deployed, but soldiers who served under him say his decision was made before he received orders to deploy.
Vance criticized Walz’s record this week.
“Tim Walz, when have you been in a war?” Vance said while campaigning in Michigan. “He’s never spent a day in a combat zone… I would be embarrassed if I were him and I lied about my military service like he did.”
Ventura, a former professional wrestler who served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, denied the allegations that Vance had retired, saying anyone who serves for 20 years “can retire if they want to.”
In a statement to The Hill, Vance spokesman Luke Schroeder said Walz was “caught red-handed lying about going to war.”
“Even worse, after a week of Kamala Harris’s lie and insistence that this was the case, a master sergeant senior to Walz has admitted that he knew he was going to deploy to Iraq months before he decided to abandon his men to run for Congress,” Schroeder said. “For a veteran who answers the call to deploy to a combat zone, there is nothing more insulting than having their honor stolen for the sake of their own political career.”
Democratic veterans defended Walz’s record, including Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who asked whether Vance had forgotten the respect he learned in the Marines.
Ventura also praised Walz as a unique governor, saying he called Ventura 24 hours after Walz was elected governor in 2018 to get an idea of how to best govern the state as a non-Democrat.
“No other governor, Republican or Democrat, has done that, but Tim Walz did. That’s why Tim Walz [is] “He’s the type of guy who wants to be successful,” Ventura said.
Walz legalized marijuana for adult use in Minnesota last year. Ventura had been pushing to legalize marijuana in the state while he was governor, and Walz wanted him to be there to celebrate the bill’s passage because he was the one who came up with the idea, Ventura said.
“Tim Waltz is that kind of guy,” he said.
Mr. Ventura had emerged earlier this year as a possible running mate for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ultimately chose California lawyer Nicole Shanahan.
Updated at 10:38pm ET.
