Clickmen
Controversy over Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s army service document is on the coronary heart of Capitol Hill’s newest political firestorm, with veterans on either side of the aisle chiming in on the brand new Democratic vice presidential candidate.
Republicans are accusing Walz of misrepresenting particulars about his 24-year profession within the National Guard — GOP lawmakers who served within the army have attacked him for leaving the National Guard to run for Congress shortly earlier than his unit deployed to Iraq.
Democratic veterans in Congress jumped to his protection, mentioning that Walz served previous his 20-year retirement eligibility mark and dismissing the GOP assaults as baseless.
“The veterans’ community is incensed right now that Tim Walz refuses to answer questions about his military record,” Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., the primary former Green Beret elected to Congress, instructed Fox News Digital. “[He] has misled voters about his military rank, and it appears he abandoned his men prior to their deployment to Iraq. We expect leaders to lead by example and this ain’t it.”
JD VANCE ACCUSES TIM WALZ OF ‘LYING’ ABOUT MILITARY SERVICE: ‘STOLEN VALOR GARBAGE’
From left: Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., a former Green Beret, is main House GOP assaults on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s army document, whereas Democratic veterans like Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., are enjoying protection. (Getty Images)
Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., a retired Navy SEAL who served a number of fight excursions, instructed Fox News Digital, “He abandoned his soldiers and their families at the time they needed him most, before a combat deployment. He sat on the sidelines in Minnesota as his soldiers risked their lives in Iraq. This is a Cardinal Sin for anyone that has served our nation honorably. God forbid he is ever a heartbeat away from becoming the Commander in Chief.”
The Harris marketing campaign countered the GOP offensive with a press name hosted by House Democratic army veteran Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo.; Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass.; and Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J.
“We have officers and enlisted who have all said he’s an exemplary, admirable soldier,” stated Auchincloss, a former Marine, including that assaults towards Walz have been forged “in bad faith.”
Crow, a retired Army Ranger, stated, “It just shows how morally bankrupt they are. They have no ideas. They have no vision for the future. All they can do is attack and lie and twist and contort.”
The controversy kicked off when Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, former President Trump’s operating mate and a former Marine, accused Walz of “stolen valor.”
VP KAMALA HARRIS PICKING GOV. TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE MET WITH MEDIA SCORN: ‘SUCH A WEIRD CHOICE’
Vice President Kamala Harris selected Walz as her operating mate earlier this week. (Reuters/Kevin Mohatt/Pool)
“When the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America, asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do, and I did it honorably, and I’m very proud of that service,” Vance stated throughout a media occasion this week.
Crow responded to Vance on X, “Falsely maligning a fellow veteran’s service for personal gain is beyond the pale. You’ve lost your way.”
Walz had served within the National Guard for 20 years earlier than retiring and re-enlisting after the Sept. 11 terror assaults. He retired two months earlier than his unit acquired orders to deploy to Iraq, spurring accusations amongst critics that he left to keep away from deployment.
“Tim Walz served honorably. He served for 24 years,” Auchincloss stated Thursday. “He made his decision to run for the United States Congress before his battalion got notice of impending deployment to Iraq.”
CNN FACT-CHECKS TIM WALZ ABOUT ‘ABSOLUTELY FALSE’ CLAIM HE CARRIED WEAPONS ‘IN WAR’
He additionally contrasted his document to Trump’s, who has been accused by his critics of dodging the Vietnam War draft for his deferrals on medical grounds, and accused him of a “despicable track record of disparaging veterans.”
The Minnesota governor has by no means deployed to a fight zone. Vance served in Iraq for six months in a noncombat function following the 2001 assault.
Walz was additionally found to have claimed a number of instances that he retired as a command sergeant main, which isn’t correct — he reverted to his earlier rank upon retirement as a result of he didn’t full the required corresponding coursework, the National Guard has stated.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., additionally criticized Walz. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc through Getty Images)
It prompted the Harris-Walz marketing campaign to replace his biography web page from saying he was a “retired Command Sergeant Major” to having “served as a command sergeant major.”
Where Walz spent his deployment has additionally generated back-and-forth between the proper and left. During his re-enlistment, Walz deployed to Italy in 2005 in assist of Operation Enduring Freedom, in keeping with the National Guard.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FRESH NEWS APP
He stated in a resurfaced C-SPAN interview, “My battalion provided base security throughout the European theater from Turkey to England in the early stages of the war in Afghanistan.”
That has been seized on by critics who’ve accused him of falsely claiming to have deployed to Afghanistan. It’s not clear from studies, nonetheless, that Walz has ever stated he deployed to Afghanistan.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz marketing campaign for remark.
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report
