Politico says Walz's false statements may 'haunt' campaign, undermine 'upstanding, everyday Midwest' appeal

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Walz addresses Tiananmen Square controversy: I can be a 'knucklehead' at times

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz attempts to clarify remarks he made about being in Tiananmen Square during the 1989 pro-democracy protests during the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate. (CBS News)

Vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., has been called out so many times for false claims, one news outlet warned it may unravel his public image.

CBS debate moderators confronted the governor during his vice presidential debate with Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, on Tuesday regarding Walz’s claim that he had been in Hong Kong in May 1989 during the Tiananmen Square protests, when he actually traveled to Asia in August, a few months later. 

Politico observed this is part of a history of factual inaccuracies Walz has told about his past, in an article headlined, "Tim Walz has a tendency to misspeak. It may haunt the campaign."

"Since being tapped as Kamala Harris’ running mate, the folksy, plain-speaking Minnesota governor has had to explain a growing number of inaccurate statements — and at times embellishments — about his past," Politico’s Meredith Lee Hill and Mia McCarthy wrote. "They range from comments about his military service to his visit to Hong Kong more than three decades ago to clarifying that his family didn’t specifically use in vitro fertilization."

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at United Center in Chicago on Aug. 21.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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"It’s unclear whether Walz’s verbal errors will undercut his credibility with voters. But the need to continually clean up those claims could politically hurt Walz and Harris, who are locked in a tight race with Donald Trump and JD Vance," the reporters added. 

"And in some cases, key members of Harris’ circle weren’t aware of some of the inaccurate statements until they became public despite the vetting process, according to four people familiar with the conversations who were granted anonymity to discuss the matter."

The writers said, "Walz’s misstatements could contradict the image that the campaign has painted of him as an upstanding, everyday Midwest guy."

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, left, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz gave differing views on how to tackle various issues during Tuesday's vice presidential debate. (AP/Matt Rourke)

During the debate, Walz responded to a question about his Tiananmen Square claim by speaking about how he "grew up in a small rural Nebraska town, a town that you rode your bike with your buddies ‘til the streetlights come on," then described joining the National Guard and becoming a teacher. He glossed over his trips to China but acknowledged, "I've not been perfect, I’m a knucklehead at times." 

When confronted again by one of the moderators for not answering the question, he conceded he "misspoke" about the Tiananmen timeline. 

The day after the debate, Walz told reporters during a campaign stop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, "Yeah, look, I have my dates wrong. I was in Hong Kong in China in 1989… I speak like everybody else speaks. I need to be clearer."

TIM WALZ SAID HE WENT TO CHINA 'DOZENS' OF TIMES, NOW HIS CAMPAIGN SAYS IT'S 'CLOSER TO 15'

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A spokesperson for the campaign defended Walz’s record to Politico, noting he "cares deeply about democracy."

"As the governor has said, he sometimes misspeaks. He speaks like a normal person and speaks passionately about issues he cares deeply about, including democracy and stopping gun violence in our school," the Harris-Walz campaign said, adding former President Trump and Vance "repeatedly lie and mislead about their plan to ban abortion nationwide" and other topics.

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