Tim Walz defends military record amid Republican attacks in first solo event

Attendees cheer as they listen to Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speak at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Convention in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES – Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz defended his military record Tuesday amid attacks from Republicans led by his opponent, Sen. JD Vance.

“I am damn proud of my service to this country,” Walz said in Los Angeles during his first solo appearance on the campaign trail.

Speaking at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Convention, Walz said he served in the National Guard for 24 years “for the same reason all my brothers and sisters in uniform do: We love this country.”

“These guys have — are even attacking me for my record of service,” Walz said. “And I just want to say I’m proud to serve my country, and I always will be.”

“I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record,” he said. “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.”

The Republican Party of Orange County issued a statement criticizing Walz regarding his record in the Minnesota National Guard. Walz, who served in the National Guard for 24 years, has come under fire from Republican vice presidential nominee Vance, who served in the US Marine Corps as a combat correspondent from 2003 to 2007.

“It’s a slap in the face to Orange County veterans for Tim Walz to fundraise off stolen valor in a community with over 100,000 veterans,” the county GOP contended. “He’s lied his entire career that he served in combat in Afghanistan when in truth he’s never stepped foot on the battlefield.

“When he was called to war, he left his unit to run for Congress. Then he lied again about his rank as `Command Sergeant Major.’ When JD Vance was called to Iraq in the Marines, he was the first in. When Tim Walz was called to Iraq in the National Guard, he was the first to run.”

Walz, 60, served as a command sergeant major, but officially retired arank lower because he had not completed some courses required for the higher rank.

Orange County Republican Party Chairman Fred Whitaker added, “As a son of a World War II combat veteran, it’s disgusting that Walz would use the sacrifice of our service members for his political gain, especially after he cut and run when called to deploy into Iraq.

“From the Lyon Air Museum and Veterans Memorial in Orange to Heroes Hall in Costa Mesa and Sid Goldstein Freedom Park in Westminster, Orange County honors our veterans. Tim Walz does not belong here and his stolen valor is not welcome in Orange County. He may walk away heavy with campaign cash from liberal donors but he will leave with the same empty and fake record he came in with.”

Nick Berardino, president of the Veterans Alliance of Orange County and who served in combat with the Marines in Vietnam, including the Tet Offensive, objected to the criticism.

“As a combat veteran, we must respect every man and woman who has worn the uniform,” Berardino told City News Service. “Our success on the battlefield as well as nationally is based upon a team of heroes that do a thousand different jobs to protect our freedom. On foreign soil and at home.”

Berardino said he has heard a lot of different takes on the issue.

“I’ve heard from many veterans,” he said. “There’s certainly a variety of opinions. But in the end every veteran like me that has been in combat gets on their knees every day to thank God for all those who are in the rear with the gear supporting us and keeping us as safe as possible.”

Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley criticized the county Republican Party’s statement on Walz.

“As a granddaughter and sister of military veterans who served in combat and on base, it’s sad that GOP Chairman Whitaker decided to parrot Trump’s lies and smear the countless veterans who serve in essential non-combat roles,” Foley said.

“Gov. Walz has a clear record supporting veterans while in the National Guard and during his time in office,” Foley added.  “Importantly, as the lead House sponsor for the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, Gov. Walz worked to stem veterans suicide by funding suicide prevention programs, requiring an analysis and report of program effectiveness, and incentives for psychiatrists who agree to join the VA medical system. All helpful for a critically important issue for all veterans, and similar to a program I initiated at the county to close a gap in services here.”

On Tuesday, Walz made his first solo appearance as Kamala Harris’ running mate at the AFSCME International Convention at the Los Angeles Convention Center, telling the audience that “when unions are strong, America is strong.”

Walz described himself as a “the first union member on a presidential ticket since Ronald Reagan,” adding, “But rest assured, I won’t lose my way.”

Walking briskly on stage to the strains of John Mellencamp’s blue-collar anthem “Small Town,” Walz was met with loud applause from members of the trade union.

“AFSCME stands for the American worker,” the vice presidential contender said, one week after Harris named him as her running mate. “AFSCME stands for what’s right.”

Walz touched on his years as a card-carrying union member as a Minnesota public school teacher. He also blasted former president Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, for what he said was their poor record of support for working-class Americans.

“Donald Trump and JD Vance see the world very differently than we do,” he said. “The only thing those guys know about working people is how to take advantage of them.”

Vance, Walz said, “is one of four senators who’ve never cast a vote on a pro-worker bill once.”

From there, Walz went to Newport Beach for a fundraiser at the Balboa Bay Club, with ticket prices ranging from $1,000 to $100,000, according to the invitation.

Walz spoke of his time as a congressman representing a mostly Republican district.

“At that time you could actually work across the aisle,” he said.

He praised congressional representatives on hand for the reception, including Reps. Mike Levin, D-Dana Point, Katie Porter, D-Irvine, and Nanette Barragan, D Long Beach, noting they serve in a much  more divided House.

`You’re doing yeoman’s work,” Walz said. Walz noted that he was called “the most liberal person who’s ever lived” while running for governor in Minnesota, but he got behind middle-class tax cuts and a child tax credit that he said would reduce child poverty in the state by one-third.

“Donald Trump doesn’t share those values,” Walz said.

The governor said Trump “is a threat to democracy, he is a threat to women’s health … but don’t give him too much power. No one’s asking for the crap he’s asking for.”

Walz said, “Trump knows nothing about public service. He spends all his time enriching himself, weakening our economy, mocking our laws, sewing chaos and division, and that was even before he became president.”

Walz added that when he calls Republicans “weird, … it’s not a name, it’s an observation.”

Walz said Trump supporters “are family members, those are our neighbors,” so, “we need to understand they care about their kids, their future. So let’s message to them right.”

Walz said the Republican Party “used to have good ideas” and “we worked together, we compromised. But not these guys. … This obsession with telling women how to run their lives and what their healthcare is – it’s not popular.”

Republicans in the past “really did talk about freedom,” he said, referring to the Harris campaign theme.

“They were also libertarian,” he said, adding how Minnesota decriminalized marijuana, then joking, “We have a hell of a lot of people from North Dakota visiting us now.”

The pheasant hunter and trap shooter said, “I fully support the 2nd Amendment, but I also support wanting our kids to be free to go to school, but not get shot dead in the hallway.”

Attorney Wylie Aitken, a major fundraiser for Democrats in Orange County who was one of the event’s co-hosts, said he was “blown away by the enthusiasm” for Walz’s appearance in Newport Beach.

The fundraiser, he said, “is reflective of a total change in chemistry of the election… What we have here is an incredible turnout.”

Aitken said many potential donors had to be turned away.

California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson issued a statement in response to Walz’s local events.

“Tim Walz is likely arriving in California today hoping to find a sympathetic voter base that is enthusiastic about his and Kamala Harris’ radical agenda,” Patterson said. “Unfortunately for him, Californians are all too familiar with the ramifications of far-left policies championed by Harris and are leaving California’s Democrat Party by the tens of thousands as a result. Walz will be a rubber stamp for Harris’ bad ideas, but he would be better served taking notes while in the Golden State on what not to do instead of selling a disastrous agenda to already frustrated Californians.” (With CNS report)

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