Kamala Harris’ vice presidential running mate, Tim Walz, has come under scrutiny for making a series of false or misleading statements about his past, including claims about his military service, personal life, and career. Walz, who is the governor of Minnesota, falsely stated that he carried weapons in combat, misrepresented his military rank, and claimed he was teaching in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre.
According to a report by Politico, key members of Harris’ campaign team were unaware of some of these inaccuracies until they surfaced in the media.
Walz’s misleading claims have spanned various aspects of his life. He once falsely asserted that he was a Command Sergeant Major in the National Guard, though he retired as a Master Sergeant. He also claimed to have been present in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests, but later admitted that he “misspoke” and was not there during the historic event.
These misstatements were brought into the spotlight during the vice-presidential debate against Senator JD Vance (R-OH), where Walz was pressed by the moderator about his inaccurate claim regarding Tiananmen Square. Walz responded, “All I said was, I got there that summer,” and conceded that he “misspoke,”