Kamala Harris finally broke her silence on allegations that her running mate Tim Walz embellished his military service to boost his military career.
Harris faced the media for the first time since becoming the Democratic nominee on Thursday and confronted claims that Walz misrepresented his rank when he retired from the National Guard and also mistakenly claimed he ‘went to war.’
She responded: ‘Listen, I praise anyone who has presented themselves to serve our country. And I think that we all should.’
President Biden made a comment on Walz’s selection as Harris’ Vice-Presidential nominee, as he reportedly told his campaign staff: ‘When you get to know him, he’s the real deal,’ per CNN.
Walz served 24 years in the National Guard before he retired in 2005 ahead of his run for congress.
However, while he served as a command sergeant major, he was reverted back to master sergeant due to leaving the military before he completed the coursework for the higher rank.
🚨 Kamala Harris just REFUSED to address Tim Walz’s stolen valor
THIS IS NOT GOING AWAY, KAMALA! pic.twitter.com/VZX3SRvglE
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 8, 2024
This week, Harris’ campaign was forced to make an embarrassing edit to his biography as it removed the higher rank from his profile.
Walz also raised eyebrows during his introduction speech on Monday as he made a point about gun control legislation, arguing people should not have access to weapons that he ‘carried in war.’
He quickly faced allegations that he never actually saw combat, although he did train with heavy artillery and was deployed to Italy in 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Walz previously faced scrutiny for his claims that he served overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, with some feeling he implied that he served in Afghanistan.
The recent spotlight on Walz’s military record is not new for the Minnesota Governor, and in the past he has denied claims that he retired from the National Guard to avoid being deployed.
During his first run for congress in 2005, Walz’s campaign insisted in March that he would stay in the race despite the possible mobilization of his unit. According to the Guard, Walz retired from service in May of that year.
In August 2005, the Department of the Army issued a mobilization order for Walz’s unit. The unit mobilized in October of that year before it deployed to Iraq in March 2006.
Reports quickly resurfaced of anger among his former brothers in arms who accused Walz of ‘betraying’ his country just as they were preparing for deployment.
Retired Command Sergeant Major Thomas Behrends of the Minnesota National Guard accused Walz of having ’embellished’ his record and of having abandoned his unit when he left the Guard to run for Congress.
‘In early 2005, a warning order was issued to the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion, which included the position he was serving in, to prepare to be mobilized for active duty for a deployment to Iraq,’ he wrote on Facebook in 2018.
‘On May 16th, 2005, he quit, betraying his country, leaving the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion and its Soldiers hanging; without its senior Non-Commissioned Officer, as the battalion prepared for war.’
After Harris faced a grilling from reporters for the first time in weeks on Thursday, conservatives criticized the level of the questions and felt she was handed some softballs.
Amid a back-and-forth from hers and Trump’s campaign over potential debates, Harris was asked for her reaction to news that Trump agreed to one in early September.
‘Well, I’m glad that he’s finally agreed to a debate on September 10,’ she said.
‘I am happy to have that conversation about an additional debate, or after September 10, for sure.’
Harris added she is working with her team to finally sit down for a prime-time interview, saying she wants to get one scheduled ‘before the end of the month.’
Bloomberg journalist Matthew Yglesias led the criticisms of the softball questions, saying on X: ‘Peak journalism is that when you finally get a chance to ask the candidate a question you ask about when they will take more questions.’
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro added: ‘No, this doesn’t count as her answering serious or tough questions. This is a gentle hot stone massage.’
‘Well, I’m glad that he’s finally agreed to a debate on September 10,’ she said.
Trump agreed to 3 debates in September, what about Harris?
Watch: Walz Ex-Squadmate Says ‘He Abandoned Us… As Soon as the Shots Were Fired’
A former member of the National Guard unit in which Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz once served slammed Walz’s actions in leaving the unit.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends sounded off in 2022 as Walz, now the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate, was in the middle of his successful campaign to be re-elected governor of Minnesota.
“He abandoned us,” Behrends said in an interview with Alpha News posted to YouTube.
“I mean, what the hell kind of a leader does that,” Behrends said.
“As soon as the shots were fired in Iraq, he turned and ran the other way and hung his hat up and quit.”
Walz spent 24 years in the National Guard, according to USA Today, beginning with the Nebraska National Guard in 1981. He then served in the Minnesota National Guard from 1996 to 2005. Walz has said he re-enlisted in the Guard after the 9/11 attacks.
In an extensive 2018 Facebook post, Behrends and fellow retired Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Herr said, Walz “has embellished and selectively omitted facts and circumstances of his military career for years.”
In the post, they alleged, “In early 2005, a warning order was issued to the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion, which included the position he was serving in, to prepare to be mobilized for active duty for a deployment to Iraq.”
They wrotee, Walz said he would go on the mission, but “it appears that was a lie”
“On May 16th, 2005 he quit, betraying his country, leaving the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion and its Soldiers hanging; without its senior Non-Commissioned Officer, as the battalion prepared for war,” they wrote.
The post said Walz did not need to quit to run for Congress, but the two men wrote that Walz “slithered out the door.”
The post said that if Walz’s story is to be believed, the four-year hitch he said he signed up for, which they claimed was actually six years, would have expired on Sept. 18, 2005.
“Why then did he ‘retire’ on May 16th, 2005, before his supposed four-year enlistment was up? And he makes it sound like he ‘retired’ a year before his battalion deployed to Iraq; when in reality he knew when he ‘retired’ that the battalion would be deployed to Iraq,” they wrote.
“The bottom line in all of this is gut wrenching and sad to explain. When the nation called, he quit.” they wrote.
“He failed his country. He failed his state. He failed the Minnesota Army National Guard, the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion, and his fellow Soldiers. And he failed to lead by example,” they wrote.
“On top of that he failed to uphold the seven Army Values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. Traitorous, fraudulent, and shameful.”
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio condemned Walz over the allegations.
“I mean, your job as a senior enlisted guy in a unit is to keep your people safe. That’s not a job you can switch out of on a moment’s notice. So if he abandoned his troops before they went to Iraq or wherever … absolutely shameful,” Vance said, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail.
She did not answer the question and does what she normally does on her yellow school bus. She is also letting her VP speak for her, since she is not capable of speaking without laughing. Her VP said Trump was scared to debate her, that is a huge laughable moment. If the debate is on any of the ABC government controlled networks, you can say without any doubt that she will be given the questions. She will have her little cheat papers with the answers on them. The reason for the debate is to show America what she really is.
Not an ounce of honor between Walz and Harris…
so another lier for the Dems, no surprises there.