Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, former President Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate, outfoxed CNN anchor Dana Bash when he appeared on her “State of the Union” show on Sunday, August 11. He did so to attack Minnesota Gov. Walz for what Vance and many others argue were Walz’s lies about his military service.
As background, Walz, who formerly served as a sergeant major in the Army National Guard, retired and dropped out despite having two years left on his contract when the unit was to be deployed to Iraq, with many saying that he left his men in the lurch by doing so. He has also lied about his military service, saying he carried weapons “in war” when he never served in combat or during a war. Many argue that those exaggerations of his service and his leaving service when it would have meant war show that he has engaged in “stolen valor.”
His spat with Bash began when she tried to trick him into either denigrating Walz’s service or go back on his attacks. Doing so, Dana Bash said, “Governor Walz served 24 years, he even stayed after he could have retired because of 9/11, more than the country asked of him, do you honor his service?”
Sen. Vance didn’t fall for it. Instead, he rebutted her and noted that he hasn’t criticized Walz for his service itself, but rather for retiring right before his unit deployed and then lying about seeing war. Vance said, “Well of course, Dana, I honor his service and I’ve never criticized what Tim Walz did when he was in the military. I criticized his retirement decision and most importantly, Dana, I criticized his lying about his own record.”
Sen. Vance wasn’t done. Continuing, he used Gov. Walz’s own past words and claims about his own service against him, saying, “This is a guy who was captured on video saying, I carried a gun in war. He never went to war. This is a guy who has been captured on video as other people say, he’s an Afghanistan veteran, he’s a veteran of a war, nodding along in agreement instead of saying ‘No, no, no, I did serve my country. I did it honorably, but I never went to a war zone.’”
Continuing, Sen. Vance again noted that, rather than criticizing the actual service of Gov. Walz in the Minnesota National Guard, he is criticizing him for lying for political gain. He told Bash, ” I’m not criticizing Tim Walz’s service. I’m criticizing the fact that he lied about his service for political gain.”
Concluding, Sen. Vance noted that he is proud of his service and has never lied about it, telling her, “Dana, now I served in the United States Marine Corps, you know this. And look, there are a lot of things that I’m proud about. I’ve never lied about what I did or overstated it because it would be beneficial to me in an election. I think that’s what Tim Walz did. That’s what I was criticizing. Yes, I do think it’s scandalous behavior.”
Attacking Walz for the same thing previously, Sen. Vance said, “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.”