(The Center Square) – The “whitewashing” of stolen valor claims leveled against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz insult servicemembers, who know better than any how to spot a “coward” among them.
So says Pat Harrigan, the Army Green Beret vying for North Carolina’s 10th Congressional District seat in Washington, D.C., during a visit to the VFW Post 92 in Lower Burrell, Pa., just outside of Pittsburgh, on Thursday.
Appearing alongside Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate on the Republican ticket, Harrigan said media claims that Walz misspoke when he said he deployed to war defy reason and logic.
During more than seven minutes of remarks, Harrigan implied that it was no accident that Walz printed the wrong rank on coins that he himself distributed. Nor did it seem likely that he never received final paperwork committing his unit to a deployment in Iraq, just before he quit.
“We believe it is unforgivable to do what Tim Walz did,” he said. “When among others the command sergeant major who replaced him, the mother of one of his unit’s fallen soldiers and the unit’s chaplain are calling him a coward, how dare Tim Walz call it simply partisan attacks?
“And quite frankly, how dare you, the media, dismiss the men and women who actually know Walz’ character?”
Vice President Kamala Harris chose Walz as her running mate on Aug. 6, concluding a two-week search that considered other Democratic party favorites like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly.
Harris ascended to the top of the ticket after President Joe Biden bowed out of the race on July 21 and promoted her as his successor. The party officially nominated her on Aug. 2 via a virtual roll call.
Since then, the duo has struggled by most accounts sans polling. Harris is criticized for dodging interviews and open question press conferences. Meanwhile, Walz faces scrutiny over his record during COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd.
His military claims, however, have arguably resonated the most.
Video shows Walz claiming he retired as a command sergeant major from the National Guard and that he had carried “a weapon of war” in war.
Harrigan said he understands if people, particularly those who have not served in the armed forces, think it is “nitpicking” when “our veterans community reads his words and scream, ‘stolen valor.’”
“Without serving and deploying, I might not get it either,” he said as Vance, the first post-9/11 veteran on a major party ticket, stood behind him. “But I’m hoping that at the very least, by the time I sit down here today, you’ll understand why we are so passionate in our united voice that Tim Walz is a coward, who betrayed his men at their greatest time of need and is not fit to serve the United States of America as vice president.”
Harrigan said Walz’ actions show he “does not care about the men who will pay for his mistakes,” noting that even his unit’s chaplain called him a coward.
He described Walz as an exaggerator and bad leader who abandoned the men and women under his care to further his political career.
“So, to the media listening, I appreciate that you can simply write off a remark from Tim that included, ‘When I deployed to war’ as a misspeak,” he said. “To those of us standing in this room, that cannot be a misspeak. It’s impossible for it to be a misspeak.”
Harrigan first deployed to Afghanistan at age 23, leading 350 Americans at an air-access-only combat outpost. He returned after volunteering for Special Forces and becoming a Green Beret.
On Super Tuesday, Harrigan emerged from a close primary defeating state Rep. Grey Mills, R-Iredell. He faces Democrat Ralph Scott Jr. and Libertarian Steven Feldman on Nov. 5.