Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) sidestepped difficult questions from CNN’s Dana Bash on Thursday regarding several alleged, proven, and admitted false statements made throughout his political career.
Bash gave Walz a chance to directly address the concerns of millions of Americans who are unsure
However, Walz, who is running alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, did not take the opportunity to clarify his position.
Bash began by questioning Walz about his claim—promoted by the Harris-Walz campaign before it was later retracted as a misstatement—that he had carried weapons in war, despite never having been deployed to a war zone.
She asked whether Walz agreed with the campaign’s assertion that he had misspoken.
Instead of acknowledging and addressing the issue, Walz offered a series of off-topic responses about his record.
“My record speaks for itself, but I think people are coming to get to know me,” Walz said, following a forced review of his achievements. “I speak like they do. I speak candidly. I wear my emotions on my sleeve, and I speak passionately about our children being shot in schools and around guns.”
When Bash pressed him on his campaign’s earlier claim—that he had carried weapons in war despite never being deployed—Walz initially responded with a simple “yeah” and then attributed his error to poor grammar.
“We were talking about, in these cases, this was after school shootings, the ideas of carrying these weapons of war, and my wife, the English teacher, told me my grammar is not always correct,” he said.
Walz attempted to frame the scrutiny of his false statements as routine political criticism, misrepresenting concerns about his record as attacks on his service.
Bash did not press him further on his service record, despite previous reports, including by Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong, highlighting discrepancies. Walz has claimed to be a retired command sergeant major, but his rank was reduced to master sergeant due to incomplete retirement requirements.
Bash also questioned Walz about other credible accusations of dishonesty, such as claims about his wife’s fertility treatments—later acknowledged to be inaccurate—and his 2006 congressional campaign’s misleading statements about a 1995 DUI arrest.
“What do you say to voters who aren’t sure whether they can take you at your word?” Bash asked.
Walz avoided the question, insisting that his former students and National Guard colleagues vouch for him, despite criticism from members of his own unit regarding his record.
“I certainly own my mistakes when I make them,” Walz claimed, though he did not address any specific mistakes beyond his grammar.
He criticized former President Donald Trump, downplaying the differences between in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) and falsely suggesting Trump would institute a national abortion ban. Trump has repeatedly denied such a ban and has expressed support for infertility treatments.
Earlier in the day, Trump told NBC he would protect access to IVF and support its coverage by either the government or insurance carriers.
Despite Walz’s evasive answers and false statements, one comment stood out: “I think people are coming to get to know me.”