CNN
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “misspoke” in a newly resurfaced video from 2018 wherein he stated he dealt with assault weapons “in battle,” a Harris marketing campaign spokesperson instructed CNN on Saturday.
Walz’s army report has been heavily scrutinized by Republicans, together with GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance, after Walz was tapped as Vice President Kamala Harris’ working mate on Monday. Vance has accused the Minnesota governor of “stolen valor,” pointing to a video from 2018 circulated by the Harris marketing campaign this week of Walz referring to weapons “that I carried in battle” whereas explaining his help for an assault weapons ban.
“We are able to make sure that these weapons of battle, that I carried in battle, are solely carried in battle,” Walz stated in the video.
Lauren Hitt, a Harris marketing campaign spokesperson, stated in an announcement the governor misspoke within the clip.
“Governor Walz would by no means insult or undermine any American’s service to this nation — in actual fact, he thanks Senator Vance for placing his life on the road for our nation. It’s the American means,” Hitt stated within the assertion.
“In making the case for why weapons of battle ought to by no means be on our streets or in our school rooms, the Governor misspoke,” Hitt continued. “He did deal with weapons of battle and believes strongly that solely army members educated to hold these lethal weapons ought to have entry to them, in contrast to Donald Trump and JD Vance who prioritize the gun foyer over our kids.”
Walz served within the Military Nationwide Guard for twenty-four years earlier than retiring to run for Congress in 2005. He deployed together with his unit to Italy in 2003 in help of the US’ battle effort in Afghanistan however didn’t deploy to a fight zone as a part of his service.
The clarification from the Harris marketing campaign comes because the Trump marketing campaign has sought to discredit Walz’s army service within the days since he joined the Democratic ticket. At a Michigan marketing campaign occasion on Wednesday, Vance, a Marine Corps veteran, accused Walz of being “dishonest” about his report as a part of a collection of assaults on the governor’s army report.
“What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor rubbish,” Vance stated. “I’d be ashamed if I had been him and lied about my army service like he did.”
At a marketing campaign rally in Bozeman, Montana, on Friday, Trump made a short reference to the assaults on Walz from Vance and different Republicans whereas praising Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL.
“His actually is valor, it’s valor for heroism award. You already know, the opposite one talks about valor, he has a special sort of a valor, it’s the other,” Trump stated.