Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz blamed “passion.” and “grammar” When asked about the controversy during a CNN interview with the Democratic candidate on Thursday, Trump made the hyperbolic claim that he was “at war … carrying weapons of war.”
He is the governor of Minnesota and served in the National Guard for 24 years. Fought His experience recently resurfaced when he appeared in an anti-gun violence video in 2018, in which he advocated for laying down his military-style rifle on the battlefield.
“We can be sure that the weapons of war that I took with me to the war are kept there and only there,” he said in the video.
But despite more than two decades of military service, having served in the Nebraska National Guard from 1981 to 1996 and the Minnesota National Guard from 1996 to 2005, the 60-year-old Waltz never saw combat.
He has previously deployed to Italy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Afghanistan war and to Norway in support of NATO.
Asked Thursday why he exaggerated his military record in this claim, Walz claimed he got too excited because “in this case, it was after a school shooting, and I was talking about the idea of carrying weapons of war.”
“I'm outspoken. I don't hide my feelings and I speak especially passionately about kids getting shot in schools and around guns,” he told CNN's Dana Bash. “So I think people know me. They know who I am. They know where my heart is.”
The Harris-Waltz campaign previously said the vice presidential candidate “made false statements” in the video.
Waltz later blamed the exaggeration on his own poor “grammar.”
“My wife, who is an English teacher, says my grammar isn't always right,” he said.
Mr. Walz then launched into a barrage of passive-aggressive insults at those who criticized his exaggerations, including Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
“What I will never do is disparage the service of other members in any way. I have never done that and I will never do that,” he said.
Criticism of Walz's portrayal of his military history came after it was revealed that he retired from the National Guard in 2004 after learning his unit was being deployed to Iraq.
Waltz chose to pursue a political career instead of remaining in the military, but before that, his campaign issued a press release in March of that year saying he would go to Iraq if requested.
Waltz was asked just three questions during the hour-long interview alongside Harris, who got the majority of the screen time, with Waltz speaking less than 10 minutes total.
