‘Misspoke’: CNN Correspondent Calls Kamala Harris VP Pick Walz ‘Weapons of War’ Remarks An ‘Unforced Error On His Part’

CNN national politics correspondent Eva McKend said Saturday that Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz committed an “unforced error” six years ago when he made a claim he had carried “weapons of war” in a combat zone.

The old comments were unearthed this week and have led to headaches for the upstart campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, who was enjoying forward momentum before her running mate put her camp on the defensive.

Walz’s service record has been questioned by conservatives since he was added to Harris’s ticket. The governor has been accused by Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) and others of running from combat before his unit was deployed to the Middle East.

Additionally, Walz claimed in 2018 that he had carried weapons similar to AR-15 rifles in a combat zone during his 24 years in the National Guard. Walz was once deployed to Europe but never saw combat in either Afghanistan or Iraq.

On Saturday afternoon, Harris campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said in a statement that Walz “misspoke.”

“Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country — in fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way,” Hitt said. “In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke. He did handle weapons of war and believes strongly that only military members trained to carry those deadly weapons should have access to them, unlike Donald Trump and JD Vance who prioritize the gun lobby over our children.”

Fredricka Whitfield welcomed McKend to discuss the headache for the Harris campaign on Saturday’s edition of CNN Newsroom.

“The Harris campaign now says that Minnesota governor Tim Walz misspoke in that newly resurfaced video from 2018, in which he said he handled assault weapons in war,” Whitfield said. “What more can you tell us?”

McKend responded, “Yeah, they’re walking back those comments now, saying that Governor Walz did misspeak, that he never was in active war and they are just retreating on those remarks. This has been sort of an unforced error on his part, and we’ll see how this continues to play out.”

While addressing gun control in 2018, Walz said, “We can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried in war is the only place where those weapons are at.”

Friday, Glenn Kessler with The Washington Post concluded, “Walz’s language was sloppy and false. He did carry weapons of war — just not in war.”

Watch above via CNN.

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