Walz Defends Military Record, Saying He’s Proud of His Service 👉 Updatem News

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz on Tuesday defended his military record against Republican attacks, saying he is proud of his service to the country.

During a campaign event in Los Angeles, Walz addressed the accusations launched by his GOP critics, specifically Marine Corps veteran and Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance, who alleged that Walz lied about his military service.

“These guys [they] are even attacking me for my record of service, and I just want to say I’m proud to have served my country, and I always will be,” Walz told supporters.

“I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record,” he said. “To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice.”

The criticism began when Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign on Aug. 8 posted a video from 2018 of Walz referring to his military background while discussing gun control.

“I spent 25 years in the Army, and I hunt. I’ve been voting for common sense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks. We can research the impacts of gun violence. We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war.”

Although Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard, he was not deployed to a war zone. Vance accused Walz of misrepresenting his military record and portraying himself as a combat veteran.

Walz’s campaign spokesperson, Lauren Hitt, told the media that he “misspoke” about carrying weapons in war.

“In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke,” Hitt said, adding that Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to the country.

“He did handle weapons of war and believes strongly that only military members trained to carry those deadly weapons should have access to them,” she said, in reference to his position on gun rights.

Walz formally retired from the Minnesota National Guard as he prepared his bid for Congress in 2005. The next year, he won a seat in the House of Representatives. His unit received a mobilization order in August 2005, and it deployed to Iraq in March 2006. Republicans and several veterans have accused Walz of timing his departure from the National Guard to avoid deployment abroad.

“When the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did. I did what they asked me to do, and I did it honorably, and I’m very proud of that service,” Vance said last week during a campaign event in Michigan. “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the army and allowed his unit to go without him.”

Walz defended his record during his first solo campaign event without Kamala Harris. The pair continues to rally supporters on the campaign trail ahead of next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

According to an official schedule, Trump will hold a rally on Wednesday in North Carolina, while Vance will address supporters at another event in Michigan that same day.

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

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