Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) delivered his first solo speech as the 2024 vice presidential nominee Tuesday and directly addressed the recent controversy regarding his military record.
Walz, who was tapped to serve as Vice President Kamala Harris 's running mate just one week ago, delivered remarks at the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, where he told the crowd he was "damn proud" of his family's history of military service.
Walz has proven to be a fundraising boon to the Harris ticket. The campaign announced it raised more than $36 million in the initial 24 hours after Harris announced Walz as her selection on top of more than $300 million raised in July.
However, former President Donald Trump , his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), and their allies have spent the past week digging into and attacking Walz over apparent inconsistencies regarding his service, specifically his decision to retire from a 24-year-long National Guard career just months before his unit was deployed to Afghanistan.
Reports also resurfaced multiple videos of Walz stating he carried "weapons of war" in war after winning his first congressional election. Walz was never deployed to an active combat zone while deployed overseas, and the governor does not appear to have ever corrected statements incorrectly defining his military record.
"With my dad's encouragement, a guy who served in the Army during the Korean War, I signed up for the Army National Guard two days after my 17th birthday," Walz, who also spent his years in the military teaching back home in Minnesota, told the AFSCME crowd Tuesday afternoon. "Then, in 2005, I felt the call of duty again, this time giving service to my country in the halls of Congress. My students inspired me to run for that office, and I was proud to make it to Washington."
"I was a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee and a champion of our men and women in uniform. I’m going to say it again as clearly as I can, I am damn proud of my service to this country," he continued. "I firmly believe you should never degenerate another person’s service record. To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice."
Walz's apparent olive branch to Vance belies a relationship that will only grow more heated over the final months of the election.
Democratic operatives specifically told the Washington Examiner that, in addition to his progressive policy bona fides, Walz was selected as Harris's running mate to help her with middle-aged white men in the Midwest and to attack Vance .
During his introductory speech last week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Minnesota governor said he "can't wait" to debate Vance before jokingly alluding to unfounded internet rumors about the junior senator from Ohio performing sex acts on furniture in his youth.
Reporting on Walz's military service and accompanying accusations of stolen valor have received mixed reviews from the veteran community and appear to predictably split along party lines.
A number of members of his old unit, including his commanding officer, have accused the governor of cowardice and disavowed his actions, but a group of more than 1,000 veterans and military families signed an open letter Tuesday claiming to be "appalled at Donald Trump and JD Vance's politically motivated attacks" against Walz.
"JD Vance’s recent comments attacking Governor Walz’s service record are disrespectful and deeply disappointing, especially given Vance’s own service — which we are also profoundly grateful for," the letter, first obtained by USA Today, reads. "But given Donald Trump’s long record of expressing disdain for service members, veterans, and their families, it’s unsurprising that his running mate has stooped to such lows."
Following Tuesday's remarks, Walz will begin a fundraising tour of his own that will see him hit the following five states over the next three days: California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island.
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You can watch Walz's Tuesday remarks in full below.
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