Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz defended his military record amid an onslaught of accusations that he has been intentionally misleading about his service and also offered some kind words about his Republican vice presidential rival's service in the U.S. Marine Corps.
"I am damn proud of my service to this country," Walz, who was tapped as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate last month, said during a speech in front of members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), one of the country’s strongest public sector unions.
The speech marked Walz’s first solo event since joining the campaign and comes amid a wave of questions about how he has represented his military service, including from his Republican counterpart on the trail.
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"What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage," Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who was tapped by former President Trump to run on the Republican ticket, said of Walz last week.
Vance’s critique was in reference to remarks Walz made in which he argued he would like to ban the kind of weapons he had "carried in war," despite the Minnesota governor having never served in a war zone.
"We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at," Walz said in a video that was released by the Harris campaign last month.
"What was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq, and he has not spent a day in a combat zone?" Vance said in response to the remarks, referencing Walz’s decision to retire and run for Congress shortly before his unit deployed to Iraq.
Critics have also accused Walz of being misleading when referencing deployments "in support" of Operation Enduring Freedom and claims that he retired as a command sergeant major when he never completed the necessary coursework to keep the rank and instead retired as a master sergeant.
However, Walz used his first solo event to push back against the critics, arguing he was "proud to serve my country, and I always will be."
Walz then turned his attention to Vance, noting that some of the criticism has come from Trump’s campaign.
"These guys have — are even attacking me for my record of service," Walz said.
However, Walz argued that such critiques should be off limits, going so far as to thank Vance, a Marine veteran, for his time in uniform.
"I firmly believe you should never denigrate 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."
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
