CNN Anchor Challenges Vance on Trump’s Military Deferment Post-Walz Attack

During a recent interview on CNN, Dana Bash confronted Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio) regarding his criticism of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s military service. This exchange also brought into focus former President Donald Trump’s history of avoiding military service during the Vietnam War.

Vance, along with other Republican figures, has repeatedly questioned Walz’s National Guard service. They falsely allege that Walz chose to retire in 2005 after serving for 24 years to evade a deployment order to Iraq. In reality, Walz retired to run for Congress that year.

Bash challenged Vance’s assertions by highlighting Trump’s lack of military experience. Trump received multiple medical deferments during the Vietnam War era, allowing him to avoid the draft. These deferments have facing renewed scrutiny.

“Donald Trump didn’t serve in the military. He received a medical draft deferment for bone spurs to avoid serving in the Vietnam War, reportedly as a favor to his father,” Bash asked Vance. “Do you find that shameful, too?”

Vance responded, acknowledging Trump’s military non-service but argued that Trump had not lied about it. “I think that Donald Trump didn’t serve in the military, but he didn’t lie about it,” he noted. “Dana, I’ve known Donald Trump for a long time. You don’t think he honors, or you think he had been for my service?”

He elaborated, saying, “Donald Trump didn’t lie about serving in the military. He didn’t say that he went to Vietnam when he didn’t. This is the problem.”

Vance emphasized he doesn’t criticize individuals for not serving but rather for exaggerating their service. He said, “But obviously a lot of people have reasons for not serving. I criticize somebody for embellishing their record for lying, saying, ‘I went to war. Did it.’ Do you think that it’s a problem that he said, ‘I went to war,’ but he didn’t? Actually, that seems to be a problem to me.”

Governor Walz did have a commendable service record, having been deployed to Italy in 2003 to support U.S. troops in Iraq, although he wasn’t assigned to a combat zone.

Senator Vance is also a veteran, having served four years in the Marine Corps, including a deployment to Iraq as a public affairs officer.

The accusations against Walz’s military record have drawn some comparisons to the “Swift Boat” campaign from 2004, which targeted then-Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) during his presidential bid with misleading claims about his service.

The Harris campaign has denounced the attacks on Walz’s service record. In a recent statement to the Associated Press, the campaign defended Walz, stating, “After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform — and as Vice President of the United States he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families.”