Ever since he was selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, concerns with stolen valor have followed Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN). There’s a whole host of issues, and the DNC looks to have made the narrative worse as they keep repeating the governor's false rank.
A DNC meeting in Chicago erroneously referred to Walz as "Command Sergeant Major" when introducing him, a rank he never had. This is hardly the first time he's been referred to by such a rank, and this is a headache that has followed Walz around.
The introduction came during the AAPI Caucus at the DNC earlier on Monday. As we've covered, the DNC has been segregating caucuses by race and other criteria. The Harris-Walz campaign has also mistakenly referred to Walz in such a way on the campaign website.
🚨STOLEN VALOR ALERT🚨
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 19, 2024
Freakish Timothy Walz was just introduced the DNC "AAPI Caucus Meeting" as "Command Sergeant Major."
Walz never completed the coursework to become a Command Sergeant Major and abandoned his unit right as they were deploying to Iraq. pic.twitter.com/I5xgapQ8P3
While these concerns of stolen valor have received considerable scrutiny with Walz being named as Harris' running mate, an ABC News report from last week noted that Walz's replacement in the National Guard, Thomas Behrend, penned a letter to Walz in 2016 asking him to stop using the rank he did not earn.
These problems for Walz do not go unnoticed by Walz’s Republican counterpart, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), who is also a veteran.
"The closest Tim Walz has ever come to combat is when he let rioters burn Minneapolis to the ground a few years ago," Vance said in a particularly spicy moment on Monday.
🔥JD Vance: "The closest Tim Walz has ever come to combat is when he let rioters burn Minneapolis to the ground a few years ago." pic.twitter.com/4AJVWZ4N24
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 19, 2024
In a clip that Vance shared to his own X account, he called out the governor's refusal to deploy when it comes to the confusion that the Harris-Walz campaign has created over the debate schedule.
Also in his remarks, Vance noted Walz "acts like such a tough guy," as he continued to hammer him for that confusion, claiming Harris and Walz are "hiding from the American people."
"I know Tim Walz has made a habit of lying about his record, but after talking such a big game about wanting to debate me, why is he running like a coward and refusing to agree to two debates? I even gave him home court advantage on CNN, yet he's still refusing to deploy, again," Vance posted, even tagging Walz in his post. Walz has agreed to debate Vance in a vice presidential debate on October 1, but Vance is also looking for a September 18 debate, as he also mentioned during his remarks.
Walz left the National Guard in 2005 to run for Congress before his unit was deployed to Iraq.
I know @Tim_Walz has made a habit of lying about his record, but after talking such a big game about wanting to debate me, why is he running like a coward and refusing to agree to two debates? I even gave him home court advantage on CNN, yet he's still refusing to deploy - AGAIN. pic.twitter.com/tBurCdv1CA
— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 19, 2024
The DNC's use of such a rank and Vance's response have been trending topics over X for Monday, as he also brought up Walz's mishandling of the Minneapolis riots in 2020 after the death of George Floyd. Not only did Walz let the city burn, he also denigrated National Guardsmen as "19-year-old cooks."
It was a Wednesday when Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a fellow Democrat, asked the governor to call in the National Guard. The police chief did as well. They didn't arrive until the early hours of Friday morning, though considerable damage had already been done, which included how the Minneapolis Third Precinct had been ransacked.