CNN’s Dana Bash pressed Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) over his assaults on Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-Minn.) navy service report on Sunday, given questions surrounding former President Trump’s historical past of avoiding the Vietnam Struggle draft.
Vance and different Republicans have repeatedly questioned Walz’s service within the Nationwide Guard, falsely claiming that he determined to retire in 2005 after 24 years of service to keep away from a deployment to Iraq. Walz retired with the intention to run for Congress that yr.
Bash pushed again on these assaults, calling into query Trump’s lack of navy service. He acquired a series of medical deferments to keep away from the Vietnam draft, deferments which have since come under scrutiny.
“Donald Trump didn’t serve within the navy. He acquired a medical draft deferment for bone spurs to keep away from serving within the Vietnam Struggle, reportedly as a favor to his father,” she requested Vance. “Do you discover that shameful, too?”
“I feel that Donald Trump didn’t serve within the navy, however he didn’t lie about it,” Vance mentioned. “Dana, I’ve recognized Donald Trump for a very long time. You don’t assume he honors otherwise you assume he had been for my service?”
“Donald Trump didn’t lie about serving within the navy,” he continued. “He didn’t say that he went to Vietnam when he didn’t. That is the issue.”
“I don’t criticize anyone whether or not they served our nation or not. I feel it’s honorable to serve,” he added. “However clearly lots of people have causes for not serving. I criticize someone for embellishing their report for mendacity, saying, I went to conflict. Did it. Do you assume that it’s an issue that he mentioned, I went to conflict, however he didn’t? Truly, that appears to be an issue to me.”
Walz was deployed to Italy to help U.S. troops in Iraq in 2003, although was by no means deployed to a fight zone himself.
Vance additionally served within the navy, being deployed to Iraq as a Public Affairs officer within the Marine Corps as a part of 4 years of service.
The assaults on Walz have been compared to “Swift Boat,” the 2004 scandal of assaults on then-Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass) navy report throughout his personal presidential marketing campaign, which had been additionally deceptive.
The Harris marketing campaign has beforehand denounced the assaults on Walz’s service report.
“After 24 years of navy service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, the place he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our women and men in uniform — and as Vice President of america he’ll proceed to be a relentless champion for our veterans and navy households,” the marketing campaign advised The Related Press final week.
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