Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who was passed over by Kamala Harris in favor of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) for her vice presidential pick, attacked Trump vice presidential running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) Wednesday night for criticizing Walz over serious issues regarding his military service.
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Kelly, a retired Navy captain and NASA astronaut, demanded Vance show respect to Walz while repeating the false “suckers and losers” smear of President Trump. Kelly did not explain or defend any of the discrepancies by Walz in his portrayals of his military service.
Kelly: “Hey @JDVance, did you forget what the USMC taught you about respect? Tim Walz spent DECADES in uniform. You both deserve to be thanked for your service. Don’t become Donald Trump. He calls veterans suckers and losers and that is beneath those of us who have actually served.”
Hey @JDVance, did you forget what the USMC taught you about respect? Tim Walz spent DECADES in uniform.
You both deserve to be thanked for your service. Don’t become Donald Trump. He calls veterans suckers and losers and that is beneath those of us who have actually served. pic.twitter.com/2GYCTaFAcI
— Captain Mark Kelly (@CaptMarkKelly) August 8, 2024
Vance served four years in the Marine Corps (2003-2007), having enlisted after the September 11, 2001 terror attack, and served in Iraq for six months in 2005 as a combat correspondent. While Vance did not see combat, all of Iraq was a war zone with everyone at risk of attack at anytime. Vance says like all Marines he was a rifleman and he carried a weapon with him in Iraq.
Walz served twenty-four years in the National Guard (1981-2005). Walz never served in a combat zone, serving mostly stateside with one six-month deployment to Italy in 2003. Walz’s issues revolve around his leaving the Guard in 2005 to run for Congress, with claims he abandoned his unit after it received orders to deploy to Iraq; that Walz falsely claimed retirement at the rank of command sergeant major; and that he repeatedly falsely said he carried weapons in war and served in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan).
Mark Kelly’s identical twin brother Scott, who is also a retired Navy captain and astronaut, went after Vance almost two hours before Mark did:
“You know what really bothers me @JDVance, is when you attack a fellow veterans military service. I respect your service and the service of
@GovTimWalz and all of those honorably discharged. He was eligible for retirement after 24 years and submitted his retirement paperwork before his unit received orders (or even warning orders) to deploy and then he continued his service as a member of congress. If they needed him to stay in his unit there is a mechanism called, “stop-loss.” Look it up. As a corporal with 4yrs of service, I highly doubt the USMC, “asked,” you to go to Iraq. They most likely, “ordered” you to go to Iraq and had you refused, you would have been thrown in the brig. Release your military record to prove the USMC, “asked” you to go. “Raise your hand if you want to go to Iraq.” It’s laughable to those of us who have served. If you win, you are next in line to be Commander in Chief and need to earn the respect of all who serve, and this is not how you do it.”
You know what really bothers me @JDVance, is when you attack a fellow veterans military service. I respect your service and the service of @GovTimWalz and all of those honorably discharged. He was eligible for retirement after 24 years and submitted his retirement paperwork… https://t.co/F0PS3wQbGY
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) August 7, 2024
The Harris-Walz campaign has not addressed Walz’s military service discrepancies, NBC reporter Yamiche Alcindor observed in a report Wednesday:
NBC: The Harris-Walz campaign is “not engaging directly on whether or not [Walz] was falsifying his military record.”
“It’s very interesting.” pic.twitter.com/Ve751lE99d
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 7, 2024
Earlier Wednesday, Walz and Harris ignored a reporter’s question about Walz’s service record:
REPORTER: Your response to allegation of stolen valor?
WALZ: *ignores*
REPORTER: Your response to allegation of stolen valor!?
WALZ: *runs away* pic.twitter.com/el3sPGDYuM
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 7, 2024
Vance’s comments on Walz at a campaign stop in Michigan on Tuesday that triggered Kelly:
“When were you ever in war? What was this weapon you carried into war given you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq? He has not spent a day in a combat zone. What bothers me about Tim Walz is this stolen valor garbage…Lied about his military service”
– JD Vance pic.twitter.com/9yDTAPuxkQ
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) August 7, 2024
