Representative Wesley Hunt (R-TX) – a former U.S. Army soldier – appeared on "The Benny Show" with Benny Johnson to discuss the accusations of stolen valor surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris’ (D) running mate Governor Tim Walz (D-MN). These accusations stem from the notion that Walz retired from the National Guard to run for Congress four months before the Department of the Army mobilized his unit to deploy in Iraq.
According to the Associated Press, in 2018 Gov. Walz spoke out against “weapons of war,” using his military service as a rationale for limiting gun ownership.
“We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at,” said Gov. Walz.
Representative Wesley Hunt (R-TX) commended Walz for his service but added that it isn’t necessary to lie about the facts of your servitude for political purposes.
🔥WOW🔥
Combat Veteran Rep. Wesley Hunt goes THERMONUCLEAR on Tim Walz for stolen valor:
"If you did not serve in a combat zone and you claim that you did under any capacity, that's a lie. A slap in the face to all of us who actually did…and those that didn't make it back." pic.twitter.com/YxosG5pDao
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 8, 2024
“It’s less than 1% of this country that chooses to actually serve this country in any capacity. So, this one service is very important, the fact that you chose to raise your hand and defend this country into capacity, I think it's a great thing to do. It shows your patriotism. You don't have to lie about your service. You don't have to lie about what you did or didn't do. And if you did not serve in a combat zone, and you claim that you did under any capacity, that's a lie, and it's actually a slap in the face to all of us who actually did. And by the way, we're not going to criticize you in any way, shape or fashion for being honest about your service, because service is service,” said Rep. Hunt. “But when you look at somebody that now potentially could be the vice president of our country, he can't tell the truth about his own personal service and about those that did serve in combat, and quite frankly, for those that served in combat that didn't make it back, like many of my friends, like many of my West Point classmates, like many that served in Afghanistan, like those 13 soldiers that did not come back after that disastrous Afghan withdrawal – When you think about those people that actually put their lives in harm's way, and you as a sergeant major or master sergeant, whatever your rank was, ultimately served but chose not to go into combat, but the claim that you did go into combat is a complete abomination, and he should be called out for it.”
Rep. Hunt continued by saying that this move from Walz “speaks to his character” as a person.
“But this is what I call people trying to pump up their resume. They're trying to do things that they didn't say, trying to sound more badass than they really are. And I think it's pretty ridiculous. He's a fraud,” said Rep. Hunt. “And so, the only thing that he should have said at that point was, I served. I served for X amount of time. I served proudly, and that's it. Leave it alone. There is no need to embellish. There's no need to lie about it, because, again, fewer than 1% of our country chooses to do it anyway, whether you deploy or not. So it speaks to his character.”
Moreover, Representative Brian Mast (R-FL), also a former U.S. Army soldier, did not hold Walz in high regard due to the accusation, either.
Tim Walz abandoned his fellow soldiers on the heels of their deployment to Iraq.
He chose Congress over combat. He is unfit to be anywhere near the commander-in-chief. pic.twitter.com/hlcZE0MIwF
— Rep. Brian Mast (@RepBrianMast) August 7, 2024
“I don't say these words lightly at all: If you leave your men, your soldiers, your women, whoever they are, under your command – Command Sergeant Major – under his command. If you leave them on the heels of combat, that is an act of cowardice. That is not an act of leadership. It is not an act of somebody that may potentially wear the title of Commander-in-Chief one day, you cannot have those two running together. It breaks my heart to hear that that's what his soldiers were saying,” said Rep. Mast.
Moreover,
Americans will have a chance to vote their conscience on Nov. 5.
