CNN fact-checks Tim Walz about ‘absolutely false’ claim he carried weapons 'in war'

CNN correspondent Tom Foreman fact-checked claims about Tim Walz’s military record, firmly denying the governor saw combat despite his rhetoric implying he did.

A CNN correspondent harshly fact-checked Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., on Wednesday, declaring that "there is no evidence" he carried weapons in combat as the vice presidential candidate appeared to previously imply. 

Since Vice President Kamala Harris announced Walz as her 2024 running mate, his political and military record have come under intense scrutiny. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, former President Trump’s running mate, accused Walz of misleading the country about his veteran status on Wednesday.

"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? When was this? What was this weapon that you carried into war?" Vance asked. He then went on to say that Walz "has not spent a day in a combat zone" and accused him of stolen valor.

CNN correspondent Tom Foreman fact-checked claims about Walz’s military record that same day, recalling, "Walz did make a comment, speaking to a group — he’s done it a couple of times, where he has used language that suggested that he carried weapons in a fighting situation."

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Walz was seen in a video shared by the Harris campaign on Wednesday where he declared at a campaign event, "We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at."

"There is a difference between being in a combat area, being involved in a time of war, and actually being in a position where people are shooting at you," he said, adding there "is no evidence that at any time Governor Walz was in the position of being shot at, and some of his language could easily be seen to suggest that he was. So that is absolutely false when he said that about gun rights out there."

The correspondent also said the campaign had come forward to say that Walz would never want to purposely mislead people about this. Foreman noted such a response is "what campaigns tend to say."

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Foreman added there are many people who aren‘t aware of the nuances of language distinction, like how "'carried in war' to most of us means ‘I carried into a situation where I was shooting at other people, they were shooting back at me,’ other people might say, 'Well it was wartime, I was posted forward, I was deployed.'"

He then cited his own father's service in the Korean War, and noted that he has pictures of his father holding his weapon and serving at his post. But he added "he was never shot at, nor did he ever shoot at anybody else, so he could say he served in war, he never really did, because it wasn't combat as such."

Walz deployed with the Minnesota National Guard to Italy on Aug. 3, 2003, to support Operation Enduring Freedom, according to the Minnesota Guard. The battalion supported security missions at various locations in Europe and Turkey, according to the Guard, and Walz was stationed in Vicenza, Italy, until returning to Minnesota in 2004. He did not deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.

A Harris campaign spokesperson told CNN, "In his 24 years of service, the Governor carried, fired and trained others to use weapons of war innumerable times. 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."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for additional comment.

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.