What's behind Trump and Vance's “stolen valor” attack on military vet Walz
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, conducts a rally to kick off their campaign at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Former President Trump and his running mate turned their attacks toward Vice President Kamala Harris' newly announced No. 2, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Wednesday, accusing him of abandoning his unit deploying to Iraq and misrepresenting his service record.
Why it matters: Walz served two decades plus in the Army National Guard before retiring in 2005 having achieved the rank of command sergeant major, one of the highest ranks an enlisted soldier can achieve. He became the highest-ranking enlisted soldier to serve in Congress.
- Vance, who served in the Marines as a public affairs specialist, attacked Walz for what he called "stolen valor garbage" at a campaign stop Wednesday.
- Vance pointed to Walz's past appeal for gun control, in which he referenced "weapons ... I carried in war."
Reality check: Vance misquoted Walz, saying the governor referenced weapons he "used" in war.
- Vance, who did not fight in combat zones, reiterated a line of attack levied against Walz during his gubernatorial race: "What was this weapon that you carried into war given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq?"
- Trump, writing on Truth Social, slammed Walz as a "DISGRACE," sharing a Newsweek op-ed written by a veteran and right-wing podcast host that framed the VP nominee's bid for the House as a choice to "abandon his men to run for Congress."
Zoom out: Walz has acknowledged that he did not face combat during his decorated military career, which began when he signed up two days after his 17th birthday.
- "I know that there are certainly folks that did far more than I did. I know that," Walz said in a 2018 interview with Minnesota Public Radio. "I willingly say that I got far more out of the military than they got out of me, from the GI Bill to leadership opportunities to everything else."
- During his years in the National Guard, Walz responded to natural disasters and was deployed on active duty in Italy.
Flashback: Relaying his military experience to the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project, Walz said that after he and his wife moved to Minnesota, he joined the 125th field artillery and moved through various positions, such as gunnery sergeant and chief of the firing battery, until he became the battalion's sergeant major.
- In 2003, Walz said, he received notice he and his battalion would be serving abroad in support of Operation Enduring Freedom following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Walz was not in a combat zone but stationed in Vicenza, Italy.
- "Many of my troops were disappointed — I think they felt a little guilty that they weren't in the fight up front," Walz said.
- He recalled later in the interview that after his retirement, many of the soldiers he served with "ended up spending the longest deployment since World War II in Iraq."
- Army Lt. Col. Kristen Augé, public affairs officer for the Minnesota National Guard, said Walz "culminated his career serving as the command sergeant major for the battalion" and retired for benefit purposes as a master sergeant because he did not finish additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, NBC reported.
Friction point: When Walz was on the gubernatorial campaign trail seeking reelection, his GOP rival sought to capitalize on the same narrative Vance and Trump attempted to leverage Wednesday.
- Former state Sen. Scott Jensen, who never served, criticized Walz alongside veterans at a 2022 press conference. Tom Behrends, who was deployed to Iraq after Walz retired and was among that 2022 group, called the Minnesota governor a "traitor" in a Tuesday New York Post piece.
Context: These attacks are not pulled from a new playbook.
- Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita, a Marine veteran himself, was a leading voice of the 2004 "swift boat" effort to discredit John Kerry's military experience.
The Trump-Vance campaign declined to comment on this story.
The Harris-Walz campaign said in a statement: "After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform — and as Vice President of the United States he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families."
What they're saying: Joseph Eustice, a 32-year National Guard veteran, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2022 that Walz was a "great soldier" who had "every right to leave."
- VoteVets, a progressive veterans PAC, directed a message at Vance on Threads and referenced Trump's lack of military experience and disparaging comments the former president made about veterans.
- "Where's your opinion on your running mate who dodged the draft 5 times, calls our war dead 'suckers and losers' and doesn't want to be seen with war-wounded," the PAC asked.
Al Bonnifield, who served under Walz, told MPR in 2018 Walz had been discussing an exit by the time the battalion returned from Italy.
- "He talked with us for quite a while on that subject," Bonnifield said. "He weighed that decision to run for Congress very heavy. He loved the military, he loved the guard, he loved the soldiers he worked with."
Go deeper: How Gov. Tim Walz built a national profile before he went viral
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect Walz was deployed to Italy and not in a combat zone during Operation Enduring Freedom.
