A Democrat senator and Harris-Walz campaign surrogate falsely claimed during a CNN interview that Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), a Marine veteran and former President Donald Trump’s running mate, never served in the military.
Sen. Tina Smith’s (D-MN) comment came during an interview with CNN anchor Jim Acosta, where the pair were attempting to prop up Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D).
.@JDVance SCORCHES Tim Walz for abandoning his unit: When the U.S. Marine Corps asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I'm very proud of that service.
When Tim Walz was asked to go to Iraq, he dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 7, 2024
Smith attempted to praise Walz’s military service — conveniently ignoring the fact that he never saw combat and quit the Army National Guard two years early to run for office, abandoning his unit just before they were set to deploy to Iraq. Then, she attacked Vance — stating that Walz served in the military but she was “not aware of any military service” from Vance.
“Well here is Tim Walz who enlisted when he was 17 years old. He served in the National Guard for 24 years and I’m not aware of any military service that J.D. Vance has ever served, so let’s just make the comparison there,” Smith told Acosta.
The CNN anchor was then forced to defend Vance, pointing out that the Republican had enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in Iraq.
“Well, he was in the Marines,” Acosta interjected.
Smith was forced to admit her ignorance, stating: “Yeah, ok, pardon me for that.”
Top Harris surrogate is unaware of JD Vance's military service: pic.twitter.com/Bw0Fg2lvrE
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 7, 2024
Vance joined the Marines in 2003 and went on to serve as a combat correspondent in Iraq for six months in 2005, later becoming a military journalist. The Republican senator detailed all of this in his bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” where he credited his time in the Marines with making him who he is today.
An excerpt of the book states: “I was mad at my mother and father, mad that I rode the bus to school while other kids caught rides with friends, mad that my clothes didn’t come from Abercrombie, mad that my grandfather died, mad that we lived in a small house. That resentment didn’t vanish in an instant, but as I stood and surveyed the mass of children of a war-torn nation, their school without running water, and the overjoyed boy, I began to appreciate how lucky I was: born in the greatest country on earth, every modern convenience at my fingertips, supported by two loving hillbillies, and part of a family that, for all its quirks, loved me unconditionally.”
“At that moment, I resolved to be the type of man who would smile when someone gave him an eraser. I haven’t quite made it there, but without that day in Iraq, I wouldn’t be trying,” Vance added.
