Amid Republican attacks, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz on Tuesday defended the timing of his decision to retire from the Army National Guard in 2005.
“I am damn proud of my service to this country. And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person's service record,” the Minnesota governor said during remarks before the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ 46th International Convention in Los Angeles.
Walz’s counterpart, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, is among the conservatives who have recently hammered Walz over his time in the Army National Guard, claiming his decision decades ago to run for Congress, a few months before his unit deployed for Iraq, amounted to abandonment.
“What was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq?” Vance said at a news conference last week. “What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage.”
There is no evidence that Walz, who served in the National Guard for 24 years, had advance notice that his unit would be deployed to Iraq when he retired to run for office.
Walz rejected Vance’s claim of abandonment during his speech:
“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 said.
