WATCH: Tim Walz FINALLY Responds To Accusations Of Stolen Valor, Lying About Seeing Combat - 'I Just Have A Few Simple Words'

On Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), during remarks to the  Government Employee Union Convention in Los Angeles, responded to recent attacks from the Trump-Vance campaign centered around the embellishment of his military service record as a veteran of the Army National Guard. Walz, who retired just before his unit deployed to Iraq in May 2005 after 24 years in the Guard, has failed to answer questions from the press about his record during the presidential campaign as multiple clips throughout his congressional career show him either outright lying about his rank upon retirement or being complicit when others describe him as a combat veteran despite never serving in a combat zone.

"And by the way, these guys are even attacking me for my record of service. I just want to say that I'm proud to have served my country, and I always will be," Walz said. "With my dad's encouragement, a guy who served in the Army during the Korean War, I signed up for the Army National Guard two days after my seventeenth birthday. I served for the next 24 years for the same reason that all my brothers and sisters in uniform do: we love this country. Then, in 2005, I felt the call of duty again. This time of being of service to our country in the halls of Congress."

Walz then argued that he was a "champion" of the men and women in uniform who served the country as the ranking member of the Veterans Affairs Committee. "I'm going to say it again as clearly as I can, I am damn proud of my service to this country," the Minnesota governor asserted. "And I firmly believe that you should never denigrate another person's service record. 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."

In response to the defense of his record, the Trump campaign clarified that they aren't criticizing his service to the country but instead focusing on the embellishments and lies spread by Walz after he left the military. "He's being attacked for repeatedly LYING about his rank, abandoning his battalion just as they were set to deploy to Iraq so he could run for Congress, and lying about seeing combat," the Trump campaign posted in response to Walz's remarks.

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, a Marine who deployed to Iraq in 2005, recently pointed out the various discrepancies in Walz's 24 years of service in the Army National Guard. He explained that the Democrat vice presidential candidate falsely advertised his rank during his congressional career and gubernatorial campaign as well as failed to join his troops during the Iraq War.

"You know what really bothers me about Tim Walz as a Marine who served his country in uniform? When the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did it because they asked me to do it, and I did it honorably, and I'm very proud of that service. When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him. A fact that he's been criticized for aggressively by a lot of the people who he served with. I think it's shameful to prepare your unit to go to Iraq, to make a promise that you're going to follow through, and then drop out right before you actually have to go."

WATCH:
 

Gov. Walz: These guys are attacking me for my record of service. Let me be clear, I am damn proud of my service to our country. And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s record of service. To anyone brave enough to put on the uniform of our great country,… pic.twitter.com/uRubf0UD9G

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 13, 2024

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