Ex-Trump defense chief urges Walz to clarify military record amid scrutiny

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper called on Democratic vice-presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) to clarify his military record amid Republican claims that Walz lied about the details of his service.

“I think some of the attacks are without merit,” Esper, who served under the Trump administration, said Friday afternoon on CNN. “Some, I think, need clarified by Governor Walz. He should speak to it. The fact that it’s been going on for a few days now in my view, means that he should just get out, speak to the issues.” 

“Clarify where I think he’s probably misspoken or people would say misled and clarify things," he added in the interview, highlighted by Mediaite. "But get this off the table and get focus back on the bigger issues that are out there."

Walz, who served in the Minnesota National Guard for 24 years, retired months before his unit deployed to Iraq in 2006. He was running for Congress at the time. 

Members of his unit have said that he retired before he knew they would be deployed, while others have said that he knew and “abandoned" them.

“Tim Walz abandoned his fellow soldiers on the heels of their deployment to Iraq,” said Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan. “He chose Congress over combat. He is unfit to be anywhere near the commander-in-chief.”

Walz has also faced criticism for speaking of his experience with “weapons of war” in combat while arguing for gun control in the U.S. The governor, tapped earlier this week to be Vice President Harris's running mate, never served in an active combat zone. 

“We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war,” Walz said in a video released by the Harris campaign. 

Republicans, led by former President Trump's running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), have accused the Minnesota Democrat of “stolen valor.” 

“I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war?” Vance, who also served in the military, said at a campaign stop in Michigan. “He has not spent a day in a combat zone … I’d be ashamed if I was him and I lied about my military service like he did.” 

Since Esper's remarks on CNN, a Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson has released a statement saying the governor “misspoke.”

"In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke,” the spokesperson told The Hill in a statement. “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.”

Republicans have also attacked Walz for claiming a higher rank in the National Guard than he actually achieved. In Congress, Walz said he was the highest-ranked enlisted soldier ever elected. 

“I proudly served 20 years in the U.S. Navy, with multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq – retired as a Master Chief,” Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), a Navy veteran, said in a post on X. “Yes, that makes me the highest ranked enlisted service member to EVER serve in Congress. A claim Gov. Walz has falsely paraded around. It’s important to call out DISHONESTY. Tim Walz should immediately be WITHDRAWN as the Vice President Nominee.”

Walz says he is a command sergeant major, which is a rank that he provisionally reached. However, he never completed related assessments so he retired as a sergeant major. 

The Minnesota National Guard has said that it is accurate to say Walz served as a command sergeant major, but it is incorrect to list that he retired as one, per CBS. 

According to Politico, the Harris campaign has since updated Walz’s biography on their website to reflect the difference.