Harris campaign says Walz ‘misspoke’ in resurfaced video saying he carried weapons in war

By 
 August 12, 2024

The newly minted Harris campaign has been up against an equally new struggle since the announcement of Vice President Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

The presidential campaign stated that Walz "misspoke" in a video which was released in 2018, in which he stated that he carried firearms into conflict, according to a report by The Washington Examiner.

Due to the fact that former President Donald Trump's running Mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) has a substantial military history, Walz's comments have not gone unnoticed.

During the past several days, Republicans have raised concerns regarding Walz's military service. Some of these concerns have been concentrated on a video in which he made reference to the alleged "weapons of war that I carried in war."

Service Details

Although Walz served in the National Guard for a total of twenty-four years, he was never sent to an active conflict zone during that time at any point.

“We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at,” Walz said in the video during comments about gun violence.

Some others, including Trump's running mate, have expressed their belief that Walz's words give the impression that he was attempting to portray himself as someone who has spent time in a conflict zone. On Saturday, the Harris-Walz campaign responded to the comments.

From The Campaign

“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,”  Lauren Hitt, a spokeswoman for the Harris-Walz campaign, said in a statement to the Associated Press.

“In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke,” Hitt added.

“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.”

Vance's Service

According to the Associated Press, Vance joined the Marine Corps after graduating from high school and was sent to Iraq in 2005 to work as a combat correspondent.

When asked about Walz's remarks on CNN's State of the Union, Vance provided his own response to Harris's campaign statement that he "misspoke."

“He ‘misspoke’; another word is that he lied about it, and he didn’t correct the record for 15 years until he was put under political pressure because I called it out,” Vance said.

More from the Trump Camp

Vance described Walz's previous remarks as "scandalous behavior" and expressed his recommendation that the public receive an apology from Walz himself rather than a campaign spokesperson.

“I think that the most important thing here, Dana, is it goes to Kamala Harris’s judgment. Tim Walz is ultimately going to be Vice President; Kamala Harris is in great health. I’m sure she’s going to be president, if she wins, for four, or maybe even eight years,” Vance said.

“Why did Kamala Harris choose a person who has lied about their military service? I think that is a serious lapse in judgment and I don’t want to hear from a campaign spokesperson of Kamala Harris, I want to hear Kamala Harris herself address what I just said.”

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson