Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance took a playful jab at his Democratic opponent, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in a video released before a rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
In the clip, Vance is seen playing the arcade game “Buck Hunter,” a popular hunting simulator. “Hey guys, J.D. Vance here, playing a little Buck Hunter before a rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin,” he says to the camera while holding the game’s rifle.
He then delivers the punchline: “Also known as the closest Tim Walz has ever gotten to real combat.”
Vance, a combat correspondent in Iraq during the height of the 2005 insurgency, has consistently criticized Walz for allegedly misrepresenting his military service. Members of Walz’s Minnesota National Guard unit have questioned the circumstances of his retirement, which took place just before a deployment to Iraq. They also pointed out that Walz has misrepresented his rank during his political campaigns — a fact later confirmed by the Minnesota National Guard.
In addition, Walz has faced scrutiny for his claim that he “carried weapons of war” during his service, despite never having deployed to a combat zone. Last month, in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Walz walked back the statement, acknowledging that he had misspoken.
“You said that you carried weapons in war, but you have never deployed actually in a war zone. A campaign official said that you misspoke. Did you?” Bash asked.
Walz avoided answering directly, instead shifting the conversation to mass shootings and gun control. “Well, first of all, I’m incredibly proud. I’ve done 24 years of wearing the uniform of this country. Equally proud of my service in a public school classroom, whether it’s Congress or the governor. My record speaks for itself,” Walz responded.
He continued, “I think people are coming to get to know me. I speak candidly. I wear my emotions on my sleeves and I speak especially passionately about our children being shot in schools and around guns. So I think people know me. They know who I am. They know where my heart is.”
Bash pressed him again, asking if he had indeed misspoken about his “weapons of war” comment, as his campaign claimed. Walz finally responded, saying, “Yeah, I said we were talking about, in this case, this was after a school shooting, the ideas of carrying these.”
The controversy surrounding Walz’s military service and his comments continue to fuel criticism from opponents like Vance, who have sought to question the Democratic governor’s credibility on the national stage.