Former members of the Minnesota Army National Guard who served alongside Gov. Tim Walz had nothing but derision for him during a lengthy interview with SiriusXM podcaster Megyn Kelly, which was posted online Monday.
The four Guard vets accused their onetime colleague Tim Walz of further inflating his war stories in a sitdown with Megyn Kelly over the holiday weekend. The former Fox News anchor and conservative satellite radio star brought together a panel of vets who served with the Harris vice presidential pick. They accused Walz of desertion and politicizing a rank he allegedly did not fully earn. Kelly’s “must-see” interview generated significant buzz online from Monday night into Tuesday morning. “He’s got absolutely no integrity,” one member said in a 68-second clip, according to the Western Journal.
Soon after, Kelly aired a full episode focusing on allegations against Walz of “stolen valor,” which involves misrepresenting or fabricating military achievements or veteran status for personal gain. Walz has faced previous accusations from retired commanders for using a rescinded title of Command Sergeant Major during his successful 2005 congressional campaign. “Many men who served with Governor Walz when he was in the National Guard… have come forward to accuse him of that sin,” Kelly said on X.
For over an hour, Kelly interviews four men who served under Gov. Walz in the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion, which deployed to Iraq without Walz, who had requested retirement to pursue a political career. Although his request was granted, his title of Command Sergeant Major was rescinded, and he left as a Master Sergeant. In 2018, during his first gubernatorial campaign, retired Command Sergeant Majors Thomas Behrends and Paul Herr criticized Walz for leaving his men “hanging” in Iraq, a sentiment echoed by the veterans interviewed by Kelly.
“It is morally indefensible. He didn’t care. It was all about him,” one vet said. Another called Walz a “military impersonator” while a third said it’s impossible to justify what the Democrat did nearly 20 years ago. “I don’t understand how you do it morally,” he said. “If you knew my blood was boiling right now because Walz has done nothing but lie to feather his own bed his entire career,” he added. “That’s how I know. I was there. I didn’t just make this stuff up. I was in the meetings. Soldiers died … Their parents didn’t want their soldiers to take a pass, take a knee?”
When asked about the accusation that Walz won a seat in the U.S. House by emphasizing a military title that was quickly rescinded, the men agreed it wasn’t surprising when they learned about it. “He’s a habitual liar. He lies about everything,” one of the four vets told Kelly. That, as well as deserting his platoon right before deployment, should disqualify Walz from serving as vice president should Kamala Harris win in November, they said. “If you sold out your Guard unit and abandoned them, what are you going to do at the national level?” another guest added.
Walz’s opponent, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), has vowed to address the Democrat’s military record during their first debate on October 1st. Vance, a Marine veteran, has publicly criticized Walz for abandoning his military responsibilities during the third year of the U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
“What really bothers me about Tim Walz, as a Marine who served his country in uniform, when the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did it when they asked me to do it and I did it honorably, and I’m very proud of that service,” he stated during an appearance in Michigan last month. “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him, a fact that he’s been criticized for aggressively by a lot of the people that he served with.”
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