NW Valley Times

Arizona State Rep. Austin Smith (R-29) said Harris and Walz "think everyone is stupid" after the Harris campaign claims Governor Tim Walz "misspoke" about his military service after he made false claims about his time in service. He made the comments on August 10 on X.

"They think everyone is stupid," he said. "You don’t despise these people enough."

In 2018 according to the New York Post, Gov. Tim Walz made claims about his military service where he said, “we can research the impacts of gun violence. We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war.”

Gov. Walz did not serve in any combat zones in Iraq or Afghanistan. However, he did make it to Italy thousands of miles away. He did hold up a sign at a protest that read "Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran 4 Kerry," a reference to fighting in Afghanistan, according to the New York Post.

Gov. Tim Walz removed from his official biography on his website that he retired as a command sergeant major when he had instead retired as a master sergeant, according to the New York Post. He had failed to complete the necessary coursework to be a command sergeant major.

“In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke," Team Harris clarified in a statement according to the New York Post. "He did handle weapons of war and believes strongly that only military members trained to carry those deadly weapons should have access to them, unlike Donald Trump and JD Vance who prioritize the gun lobby over our children.”

JD Vance had disputed the manner in which the governor served in military before the campaign's clarification, "you know what really bothers me about Tim Walz? When the US Marine Corps asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it.  When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, he dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him. I think that's shameful."

Kamala Harris announced Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota to be her running mate on August 6, according to Yahoo News.