Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate Tim Walz responded to the stolen valor scandal by deflecting the allegations against him.
The allegations of stolen valor plagued his candidacy since Harris announced Walz as the Democrat vice presidential nominee.
During his first solo event on Tuesday, Walz responded to the scandal.
However, rather than explain why he lied about his military background, Walz argued that his “service record” should not be questioned.
Walz, Minnesota’s radical Democrat governor, is now out campaigning on his own for the first time.
He is taking his phony “folksy Midwestern dad” routine to five different states.
The governor made his first stop in Newport Beach, California on Tuesday.
At the stop, he spoke with a union for government employees, AFSCME.
In a speech to the union’s members, the Democrat governor accused his Republican rival J.D. Vance of denigrating Walz’s National Guard service.
He was responding to calls from Vance, a U.S. Marine veteran, for Walz to explain why he lied about his military service.
“I firmly believe you should never degenerate another person’s service record,” Walz 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,” Walz added.
Walz did not address the numerous times he has lied about being in combat.
The Harris campaign has marketed Walz as a normal Midwestern guy, despite his far-left background.
Democrats are trying to rebrand Walz as part of an effort to win Rust Belt voters and deflect Republican attacks that the Harris-Walz ticket is radical and elitist.
But Walz’s rollout has proven rocky.
Within days of Harris announcing her pick, Walz conceded he “misspoke” about serving in combat as Republicans scrutinized his military record.
As Walz touched down in California on Tuesday, Orange County Republicans mocked Walz over the stolen valor scandal.
Chairman Fred Whitaker said Walz “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.”
Like Harris, Walz hasn’t engaged with the media.
President Donald Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance, a Marine veteran who brought attention to Walz’s military record, sat for three back-to-back interviews with hostile reporters on the big networks last Sunday.
In those interviews, Vance explained that he takes issue with Walz for lying about his service – not the fact that he served.
“I’ve never criticized what Tim Walz did when he was in the military,” Vance told CNN.
“I’m criticizing the fact that he lied about his service for political gain.”
Walz is obviously trying to conflate two different things.
However, Republicans are unlikely to forget the stolen valor scandal.
Walz will continue fundraising in the Democrat enclaves of Denver and Boston on Wednesday.
He’ll finish up Thursday with a swing through Newport, Rhode Island, and The Hamptons.
