Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz addressed the controversy surrounding his exaggerated claims of carrying “weapons of war … in war” during a CNN interview on Thursday. The Minnesota governor and 24-year National Guard veteran attributed the misleading statement to his “passion” and “grammar” while discussing gun violence.
The controversy stems from a resurfaced 2018 video in which Walz, advocating for stricter gun control, implied that he had combat experience. “We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at,” he said. However, Walz never saw combat during his military service. While he served in the Nebraska National Guard from 1981 to 1996 and the Minnesota National Guard from 1996 to 2005, his deployments were limited to Italy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Norway in support of NATO.
When asked on Thursday why he had inflated his service record, Walz explained that he got carried away by the emotional context of the discussion, which followed a school shooting. “I speak candidly. I wear my emotions on my sleeves, and I speak especially passionately about our children being shot in schools and around, around guns,” Walz told CNN’s Dana Bash. “So I think people know me. They know who I am. They know where, where my heart is.”
The Harris-Walz campaign had previously stated that Walz “misspoke” in the video. Walz further attempted to clarify by blaming his poor “grammar” for the exaggeration. “My wife, the English teacher, tells me my grammar is not always correct,” he said.
Walz also took the opportunity to defend himself against criticism, particularly from Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who had questioned Walz’s portrayal of his military service. “The one thing I’ll never do is I’ll never demean another member’s service in any way. I never have and I never will,” Walz asserted.
The criticism of Walz’s military service record intensified after it was revealed that he retired from the National Guard in 2004, just as his unit was preparing to deploy to Iraq. Walz opted to pursue his political career instead, though his campaign had issued a press release in March of that year stating he would go to Iraq if called.
During the hour-long interview with CNN, Walz was asked only three questions, with Vice President Kamala Harris taking the majority of the screen time. Walz’s total speaking time amounted to less than 10 minutes.