'He dodged the draft five times': Fox News panel erupts over Vance's attack on Tim Walz's military record
WASHINGTON, DC: On Wednesday, Fox News' 'The Five' descended into a heated argument when Democratic commentator Jessica Tarlov confronted her colleagues over criticisms of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s military service.
The controversy flared up after Walz, who has been chosen as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, faced attacks from Donald Trump supporters.
JD Vance’s desertion claim against Tim Walz challenged
The criticisms stemmed from Sen JD Vance’s claim that Tim Walz, a longtime Army National Guard member, abandoned his unit by retiring just before a scheduled deployment to Iraq.
This accusation is contentious given that the deployment orders were issued several months after Walz’s retirement, which had occurred as he left the Guard to pursue a congressional run. Additionally, neither Walz nor Vance had served in combat roles.
Tarlov criticized the attacks, referencing the Trump campaign manager’s role in the John Kerry Swift Boat controversy. She defended Walz, noting his 24 years of honorable service and pointing out Trump’s own draft dodging.
"So obviously, this was going to come up because the Trump campaign manager was the one behind the John Kerry Swift Boat attack, which was obviously very persuasive to people," Tarlov said.
"He served for 24 years, honorably, then he stopped to run for Congress on a platform of ending the war, and I don't think that anyone, especially with Donald Trump at the top of a ticket, he dodged the draft four or five times, bone spurs, Captain Bone Spurs."
Fiery exchange on Fox News over Tim Walz's military record
Greg Gutfeld interrupted, shouting, "Bone spurs are a very serious issue, Jessica." Tarlov continued to challenge the criticisms, citing Donald Trump's controversial remarks and personal issues.
"He denied he slept with Stormy Daniels but that obviously hasn't worked out for him. I don't think you should ever say anyone who served didn't do a good job in this. If JD Vance wants to get into that tit-for-tat, he was in the public affairs department. It's just a fact of all of this. I don't think he should be going there with Tim Walz. I think that everyone who has served—"
Jesse Watters interjected sharply, "He was in a war zone," referring to Vance’s service in Iraq. Tarlov pointed out, "He was a reporter."
Watters retorted, "He was in Iraq, Jessica. He was in the Marines. And this guy left his unit ... Listen, it doesn't matter what I think, Jessica, his unit thinks he's a coward."
Tarlov vehemently denied this, exclaiming, "It's not true!"
