CNN’s Jim Acosta forced to correct Harris surrogate for suggesting JD Vance never served in military

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CNN’s Jim Acosta forced to correct Harris surrogate calling out JD Vances’ military record

CNN’s Jim Acosta was forced to correct Sen. Tina Smith on Wednesday after the Democratic senator, a surrogate for VP Harris, said Sen. JD Vance had no record of military service. 

CNN’s Jim Acosta was forced to correct a top Harris surrogate who suggested GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance never served in the military on Wednesday. 

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., who is working to help Vice President Kamala Harris defeat the GOP ticket, appeared on CNN and responded to Sen. JD Vance’s recent claim that Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is misleading the country about his veteran status. Vance famously enlisted in the Marines and served in Iraq long before entering politics, but that was news to Smith. 

"Here is Tim Walz who enlisted when he was 17 years old, he served in the National Guard for 24 years. And I’m not aware of any military service that JD Vance has ever served, so let’s just make the comparison there," Smith told CNN viewers. 

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CNN’s Jim Acosta was forced to correct Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., for suggesting JD Vance never served in the military. (Screenshot/CNN)

Acosta, who was a key Trump antagonist when he served as CNN’s White House reporter, didn’t immediately jump in but corrected Smith before she finished her next sentence. 

"He was in the Marines," Acosta said. 

Smith responded, "OK, pardon me for that," before quickly moving on. 

On Wednesday, Vance, who served as a corporal in the public affairs section of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, accused Walz of dodging his military service. 

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GOP Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance enlisted in the Marines and served in Iraq. (Fox News)

"As a Marine who served his country in uniform when the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it," Vance said. 

"I did what they asked me to do, and I did it honorably," Vance added. "When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him, a fact that he's been criticized for aggressively by a lot of the people that he served with." 

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Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.