If you haven't read Beege's post from earlier today, you should do that. As she pointed out, an X account belonging to the Harris campaign posted some video of Tim Walz pushing for gun control and talking about weapons of war. Here's the clip again:

Gov. @Tim_Walz: I spent 25 years in the Army and I hunt. I’ve been voting for common sense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks. We can research the impacts of gun violence. We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war,… pic.twitter.com/3IVaXi2RP2

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 6, 2024

"We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war," he said. Anyone listening to that would assume that Walz carried military grade weapons during wartime. But as Beege pointed out, Walz never served in a combat zone. He apparently did deploy to Italy at one point but there was no combat going on anywhere near him. When his unit was notified that they were going to be deployed to Iraq, Walz quit and ran for office.

JD Vance clearly noticed the discrepancy and brought it up on the campaign trail, comparing this specific statement by Walz to stolen valor:

J.D. Vance fires back at Tim Walz after he mocked him for attending Yale:

"What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something you’re not. And if he wants to criticize me for getting an Ivy League education, I'm proud [...] I was able to… pic.twitter.com/0qt3waifq2

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 7, 2024

Here's the last bit of what Vance said: 

He said 'We shouldn't allow weapons that I used in war to be on America's streets.' Well I wonder Tim Walz, when were you ever in war? What was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq and he has not spent a day in a combat zone. What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you're not.

This obviously creates a big problem for the Harris camp and for most of the national media that is currently acting as boosters for her campaign. NBC News was quick to come out with an article titled "Republicans start tearing down Walz by going after his military record." Those evil Republicans, always pouncing on poor Democrats. But if you actually read through the story you do learn that Walz actually did say this thing that Republicans are talking about. The entire story is 29 paragraphs long and we get this in paragraphs 21 and 22:

In a Tuesday post on X that highlighted Walz’s hunting and military background, the Harris campaign shared undated video footage that featured the governor talking about 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,” Walz is seen and heard saying in the brief clip.

This is standard operating procedure for the media. If the news is bad for Democrats then don't talk about the story, talk about Republicans seizing on the story and make their reaction the story instead.

Nevertheless in the very last two paragraphs we finally get a response from the Harris camp which includes an admission that Tim Walz lied. NBC News literally could not have buried this admission any deeper.

Asked about the video, a Harris campaign spokesperson did not deny that Walz had embellished when he spoke of carrying weapons in war.

“In his 24 years of service, the Governor carried, fired and trained others to use weapons of war innumerable times,” the spokesperson said. “Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country — in fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way.”

So there it is, an admission that Walz lied, er...embellished his own record by suggesting he carried military weapons "in war" when in fact he never entered a combat zone.

This rest of this lame effort at spin is a complete non sequitur. The issue, as even NBC seems to understand, is that Walz said he carried weapons of war "in war." Saying that he "carried, fired and trained others" is non-responsive. No one doubts that Walz has fired a military weapon many times in a training situation, only that he never did it in a war as he left the military just in time to avoid deployment.