Pelosi hits back at Republicans’ ‘stolen valor’ attacks on Walz
By: Isabella Ramírez (POLITICO)
It is pretty serious when Nancy Pelosi has to weigh in with her own spin.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday defended Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz against attacks on his service record, calling it a “sign of the bankruptcy of their ideas” for Republicans who accuse him of “stolen valor.”
“They don’t have anything to say, so they make up things,” Pelosi told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki. “They are just trying to confuse things, but he came to Congress and was respected by our colleagues. Elected to be the top Democrat on the Veterans Affairs Committee, where he … made historic advances for veterans, meeting their needs, more than had been done since the G.I. Bill during World War II.”
Soon after Vice President Kamala Harris tapped Walz as her running mate, Republicans resurfaced claims that Walz, who served for 24 years in the National Guard before retiring in 2005 to run for Congress, had inflated his military credentials. Walz has faced similar attacks from opponents during his previous races for the governorship and the House, where he became the most senior enlisted soldier to serve in Congress.
The Trump campaign and in particular, Ohio Sen. JD Vance — who deployed to Iraq as a combat correspondent in the Marines but did not experience combat — has latched onto scrutiny of Walz’s Army record, claiming the Democratic vice presidential contender retired to avoid deployment to Iraq. Walz retired months before his unit was issued a mobilization order — a fact that Pelosi emphasized.
When asked how the Harris-Walz campaign should respond to criticisms of Walz’s record in the military, Pelosi advised: “Just dismiss it.”
“If people lie, as they are lying, and you hear the lie enough times, it sort of becomes kind of accepted in their group, and so you have to say ‘No, that didn’t happen,’” Pelosi said. “The reality has to be driven home. I’m not one to let their misrepresentations persist.”
“He has been a consistent patriotic courageous American,” she added.
Harris’ presidential campaign did update its online biography of Walz amid questions about his military service and axed a reference to Walz as a “retired command sergeant major,” POLITICO reported. Instead, it now says he once served as a command sergeant major.
It’s a small change that reflects Walz’s true rank at retirement from the National Guard. He reverted back to the rank of master sergeant when he left the military because he had not completed the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy’s required coursework for the higher rank.
Harris campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt also told CNN that Walz misspoke when he in 2018 referred to weapons “that I carried in war” while expressing support for an assault weapons ban — remarks that were featured in a clip shared by the campaign last week. Walz did not serve in a combat zone, but Hitt said he has handled weapons of war.
Earlier Sunday, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who sits on the Armed Services Committee and served nearly five years on active duty in the Army, told “Fox News Sunday” that he respects Walz’s service but pointed to “past inconsistent statements about his service.”
Tags
Who is online
380 visitors
Didn't anyone vet Tim Walz's veteran record? Surely Democrats saw this coming. Yeah, yeah, it's not a screwup because TRUMP!
Pelosi would try to sell the voting public beachfront property in Nevada. Just look at all that sand!
She's right though. They'll just ignore it like they did Blumenthal lying about serving in Vietnam. As she's said, Democrats will vote for a glass of water.
Walz's veteran record wasn't in a passed bill so she couldn't read it.
Debunking the GOP's lies about Tim Walz's military record
Sen. JD Vance accused Gov. Tim Walz of "stolen valor" — but the facts tell a different story.
Lol. It must be easy to be a publicist/reporter for MSNBC. Don't address the actual allegations, provide no facts to support the democrat's claim and just say "the democrat is right"
Are you saying Walz never lied about his Military Career?
From 2018:
The spin is six years too late. There's no news like old news. Why was the Harris campaign caught flat footed and 4F on old news?
Want to see his record, publish his DD214 not some "news" article.
Being a backer of Trump, why do you care?
You are posting "Debunking GOP lies" so you're basically calling me a liar.
That would be MSNBC, not me.
That first paragraph of your article is truthful and says it all.
'Nuff said!
and the second paragraph is as well
So, now, 'Nuff said.
All the lies about Walz should be dismissed and disregarded for the deplorable ignorance that they are.
The second paragraph sounds very Trumpian.
Yeah.. the best ever!!!!
They're flailing, trying to find anything to use against Kamala/Walz. Truthfulness has never been a requirement.
By THEIR colleagues. That's a pretty low standard.
The "most senior enlisted soldier to serve in congress? You mean a Master Sergeant is the most senior member? The fact that his claims to unearned rank existed in the past should have been an indication that they would continue until he sets the record straight.