In his second visit to Pennsylvania since being nominated as Republican vice president, U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio) continued his criticism of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s military record at a U.S. Army Volunteer Fire Service (VFW) hall in Westmoreland County on Thursday.
“We are not attacking his honorable service,” Vance said at the invitation-only gathering at VFW Post 92 in Lower Burrell. “We are attacking the dishonesty of that service, which is not honorable, that is the height of dishonor, and that is why Tim Walz should not be vice president of the United States.”
Walz, the presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee, served in the National Guard for 24 years. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign said on August 10 that Walz “slipped up” in a 2018 video when he said he handled weapons “in war.” Vance, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, has since accused Walz of “stealing valor” at campaign rallies, an accusation he repeated on Thursday.
Walz defended his military service earlier this week at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union convention in Los Angeles, saying he was “damn proud” of his service.
“I firmly believe that you should never disparage another person’s time of service,” Walz said Tuesday. “To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country — including my opponent — I have just a few simple words: ‘Thank you for your service and sacrifice.'”
The Harris team released a statement ahead of Vance’s visit arguing that the policies of former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate for 2024, would have a negative impact on veterans.
“Trump and Vance’s extreme ‘Project 2025′ agenda would drastically cut veterans’ hard-earned benefits and health care,” the Harris-Walz campaign said in a statement earlier this week. “Vice President Harris and Governor Walz believe we should thank those who have served our country, not disparage them – which is why they will always fight to ensure our veterans and military families receive the benefits and respect they have earned and deserve.”
Vance also criticized President Joe Biden’s administration for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. During the evacuation of American citizens and allies, a terrorist attack at the airport in Kabul killed 13 American soldiers and dozens of Afghans.
“We lost 13 brave soldiers that we did not need to lose,” Vance said.
Democrats held a news conference in Pittsburgh on Thursday to rebut Vance’s criticism of Walz. Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb said he worked with Walz, who represented Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019, on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
“The man knows veterans’ issues and fights for them,” Lamb said. Walz joined the Veterans Affairs Committee to draft legislation to support veterans, Lamb added, which he said was a “clear contrast” to Vance.
“JD Vance has been a senator for a year and a half. I couldn’t name you a single bill he’s introduced to help our veterans, let alone passed it,” Lamb added. “I think he spends his time working on cryptocurrency and doing podcasts. So the question in this election is not who was GI Joe in the war, but who’s going to fight for the GI Bill. What are you going to do for veterans tomorrow and next year and five years from now?”
JD Vance attacks Harris and Walz at campaign rally in South Philadelphia
Election environment in Pennsylvania
Although Trump lost Pennsylvania in 2020, he won Westmoreland County, where Lower Burrell is located, by 28 points over the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris ticket.
A Quinnipiac University poll of likely voters released Wednesday found the Harris-Walz team narrowly ahead of Trump-Vance in Pennsylvania, 48% to 45%. The poll also found that Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was in the running as Harris’s running mate, had a 59% approval rating.
On the topic of running mate candidates, the Quinnipiac poll found that 59 percent of likely Harris voters said her choice of Walz made them “even more excited” about her candidacy. 43 percent of likely Trump voters said his choice of Vance made them even more excited.
Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a press release about the poll results: “The long-term implications are speculation, but the math is clear: Walz helps Harris much more than Vance helps Trump.”
Trump will be in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, for a rally on Saturday, and Harris and Walz will launch a bus tour of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh on Sunday, a day before the opening of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
This article was updated at 5:40 p.m. on August 15, 2024 to add commentary from former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb.
