As our own Sam Janney reported earlier, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is having a "terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day today in the media." Mainstream media outlets are reporting negative stories about the Minnesota governor. CNN reported that Walz lied about his drunk driving arrest. Fox News reported on Walz repeatedly praising an antisemitic Muslim cleric who celebrated Hitler and the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
ABC News is getting in on the action, noting that Walz has spread some "inaccuracies."
New: In 2016, Tim Walz was intro'd during a TV panel as having "served with his battalion in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan."
— Olivia Rubin (@OliviaRubinABC) August 15, 2024
Walz nodded in agreement, despite having never served there.
More w/ @wsteaks https://t.co/MCHrtpDzkp
.@wsteaks and @OliviaRubinABC report that in 2016, Thomas Behrends, who took over Walz's battalion after Walz retired from military service in 2005, penned a private letter to Walz imploring him to stop using the title of Command Sergeant Major.
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) August 15, 2024
"It saddens me that after your…
"It saddens me that after your long career in the National Guard, that you did not fulfill the conditions of your promotion to Command Sergeant Major...It's quite a title to have, when it has been earned. I would hope that you haven't been using the rank for political gain, but that is how it appears."
Ouch.
Olivia Rubin and Will Steakin report:
While there is no evidence that Walz has committed the crime of stolen valor, an ABC News review of hours of footage from his past interviews and speeches, along with years of records from his initial campaigns, shows that journalists, some of his colleagues in the National Guard, and even voters have sometimes been left with an inaccurate picture of his military service that has led to criticism dating back years.
These inaccuracies, which at times went uncorrected, include Walz not denying the statement that he served in Afghanistan, and Walz repeatedly saying that he retired with a rank he achieved but did not retire with, as well as an instance in 2018 of Walz claiming that he carried weapons of war "in war," about which the Harris-Walz campaign said that he misspoke.
"No evidence."
Can Democrats and the Harris campaign stop pretending this is a “Swift Boat” political op now?
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) August 15, 2024
— The Galaxy's Shortest Wookie (@Crapplefratz) August 15, 2024
It's becoming more and more clear that he didn't just "misspeak."
— Cecelia (@Ceceliaism) August 15, 2024
Stolen valor is not a good look. Lying about your military record and your rank is not a good look.
— tom ferry (@AnonToothFairy) August 15, 2024
Holy shit the hits just keep on coming. People in his unit have been cooking this guy.
— DynamicAnalysis (@DynamicAnalysis) August 15, 2024
This stolen valor thing isn’t going away and it shouldn’t
— Cindy (@Cindybinmo) August 15, 2024
Tim Walz is a total POS. The more you research about him, the more you know this.
— ForceMoments (@PowerKanter) August 15, 2024
Walz continues to lie about his service. Sad to see.
— U (@berniehad48sec) August 15, 2024
Decades of “misspeaking” is evidence of one thing:
— Halo (@HaloTruthCat) August 15, 2024
Stolen Valor
Is this a real account. An ABC person posted this?
— BooBo🟠zBelly 🐻🔧 (@CryptoCG2) August 15, 2024
Olivia, thank you for being a beacon of truth amongst your companies’ propaganda for this one beautiful day
They're a little late to the party, but it seems someone at ABC News realized this story wasn't just going to go away. At least they hedged their bets and said there was "no evidence" of stolen valor.
As we reported, Walz sort of addressed the controversy at an AFSCME conference, saying only that he was "damn proud of his service to the country." Which is fine, except he keeps lying about it.
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