Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz shrugged off questions about his incorrect descriptions of his military service record, during a CNN interview on Thursday.
‘My record speaks for itself but I think as people are coming to know me I speak like they do,’ Walz said, dodging the question. ‘I speak candidly, I wear my emotions on my sleeves.’
In 2018, Walz said he carried ‘weapons of war’ in battle, during a discussion about the need for gun control.
‘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, despite never being deployed overseas.
He then referred to criticism he got from his wife, when speaking publicly about his record.
Gov. Tim Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris sat down for an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Thursday
‘My wife the English teacher tells me my grammar is not always correct,’ he added.
He pivoted to other issues where he felt he was unfairly attacked by some supporters of former President Donald Trump.
‘If it’s not this, it’s an attack on my children for showing love for me or it’s an attack on my dog,’ he said.
Bash also questioned Walz about his misstatements about he and his wife using IVF to have their children, when they actually used a different treatment and misstating details of a 1995 drunk driving arrest.
Walz dodged controversial statements he made about his record
Walz said that his students and fellow servicemen would ‘vouch’ for him.
‘I certainly own my mistakes when I make them,’ he said.
He pivoted back to Republican efforts to restrict abortion rights, pointing to a contrast between his vision and that of former President Donald Trump.
‘I won’t apologize for speaking passionately whether it’s guns in schools or protecting our reproductive rights,’ he said.
