Marine veteran and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) hit Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) for lying about his military service and claiming he carried guns “in war.”
Vance was asked at a press conference about Walz’s suggestion that Vance’s law degree from Yale University and his Silicon Valley background meant he was part of the elite.
Vance first responded that he came from a poor family and worked his way through college and law school.
“The fact that Tim Walz wants to turn it into a bad thing, that I actually worked myself through college, through law school, and made something myself — to me, that’s the American dream — and if Tim Walz wants to insult it, I think that’s frankly pretty bizarre,” Vance began.
He then pointed out that Walz — a retired Army National Guard sergeant major — not only dropped out of the Army before his unit deployed to Iraq, but has lied about his military service, claiming that he carried weapons “in war” — when he never served in combat or war.
“What really bothers me about Tim Walz — it’s not even the positions that he’s taken, though certainly he has been a far left radical,” Vance said.
He explained:
“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. 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, a fact that he’s been criticized for aggressively by a lot of the people that he served with. I think it’s shameful to prepare your unit to go to Iraq, to make a promise that you’re going to follow through and then to drop out right before you actually have to go.
J.D. Vance fires back at Tim Walz after he mocked him for attending Yale:
“What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something you’re not. And if he wants to criticize me for getting an Ivy League education, I’m proud […] I was able to… pic.twitter.com/0qt3waifq2
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 7, 2024
Vance then referenced a video clip — posted by the Harris-Walz campaign — showing Walz claiming he “used” weapons “in war” — when he never deployed into combat.
Gov. @Tim_Walz: 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,… pic.twitter.com/3IVaXi2RP2
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 6, 2024
“He was making a point about gun control. He said we shouldn’t allow weapons ‘that I used in war’ to be on America’s streets,” Vance said.
“Well, I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war? When was this? What was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq? And he has not spent a day in a combat zone, ” Vance said.
“What bothers me about Tim Walz is the Stolen Valor garbage,” he said. “Do not pretend to be something that you’re not. And if he wants to criticize me for getting an Ivy League education, I’m proud of the of the fact that my Mamaw supported me, that I was able to make something of myself.”
“I’d be ashamed if I was him and I lied about my military service like he did,” he said.
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