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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “misspoke” in a newly resurfaced video from 2018 in which he said he handled assault weapons “in war,” a Harris campaign spokesperson told CNN on Saturday.
Walz’s military record has been heavily scrutinized by Republicans, including GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance, after Walz was tapped as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate on Monday. Vance has accused the Minnesota governor of “stolen valor,” pointing to a video from 2018 circulated by the Harris campaign this week of Walz referring to weapons “that I carried in war” while explaining his support for an assault weapons ban.
“We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war,” Walz said in the video.
Lauren Hitt, a Harris campaign spokesperson, said in a statement the governor misspoke in the clip.
“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 the statement.
“In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke,” Hitt continued. “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.”
Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years before retiring to run for Congress in 2005. He deployed with his unit to Italy in 2003 in support of the US’ war effort in Afghanistan but did not deploy to a combat zone as part of his service.
The clarification from the Harris campaign comes as the Trump campaign has sought to discredit Walz’s military service in the days since he joined the Democratic ticket. At a Michigan campaign event on Wednesday, Vance, a Marine Corps veteran, accused Walz of being “dishonest” about his record as part of a series of attacks on the governor’s military record.
“What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage,” Vance said. “I’d be ashamed if I were him and lied about my military service like he did.”
At a campaign rally in Bozeman, Montana, on Friday, Trump made a brief reference to the attacks on Walz from Vance and other Republicans while praising Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL.
“His really is valor, it’s valor for heroism award. You know, the other one talks about valor, he has a different kind of a valor, it’s the opposite,” Trump said.
