Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) poured cold water on Gov. Tim Walz's entrance into the vice presidential race, drawing attention to claims that the Democrat abandoned his military battalion shortly before it was deployed to Iraq in 2005.
During a campaign appearance on Wednesday, the running mate to former President Donald Trump excoriated Walz following the resurfacing of a letter by two retired sergeant majors who accused the Minnesota governor of "stolen valor" when he first ran for Congress touting his rank as a Command Sergeant Major of the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion. However, authors Thomas Behrends and Paul Herr wrote, that Walz left his soldiers "hanging" after he claimed it was necessary that he retire in order to run for Congress. "His excuse to other leaders was that he needed to retire in order to run for congress," the retired sergeant majors wrote. "Which is false, according to a Department of Defense Directive, he could have run and requested permission from the Secretary of Defense before entering active duty; as many reservists have."
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Sen. Vance, a former Marine, ripped his competitor for abdicating his military duty during the nation's third year of war in the Middle Eastern nation. "What really bothers me about Tim Walz, as a Marine who served his country in uniform, 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 it when they asked me to do it and I did it honorably, and I'm very proud of that service," he stated during an appearance in Shelby Township. "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.
Vance continued, his voice rising in anger. "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 drop out right before you actually have to go."
WATCH:
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Quickly, online sleuths unearthed a video of Walz during a previous election where he touted his support for keeping "weapons of war" out of the hands of U.S. citizens. His daughter Hope, he said at the time "woke up five weeks ago and said 'Dad, you're the only person in elected office. You need to stop what's happening with this.' I'll take my kick in the butt with the NRA. I've spent 25 years in the Army, and I gave the money back," he stated during a campaign appearance. "We can make sure where I carried those weapons of war in war is the only place where those weapons are at."
WATCH:
Additional criticism of Walz's selection by Harris has been directed at the vice president for failing to choose Pennsylvania Gov. Joshua Shapiro, a popular two-term incumbent presiding over a crucial swing state. Appearing on CNN, Republican analyst Scott Jennings argued that Harris's selection of Walz was a tacit acknowledgment that antisemitism within the base of the Democratic Party prevented her from selecting a Jewish running mate.
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