The Kamala Harris campaign is once again facing scrutiny as new revelations emerge about Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Walz, who is Harris’s running mate, has recently come under fire for a series of misleading statements that are raising difficult questions for the campaign. The controversy centers around Walz’s exaggerated military record and recent claims about the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in his family’s journey to parenthood.
Walz creates headaches for Harris with misleading IVF and military claims
DETAILS: https://t.co/EgLp1gWzWu#timwalz #kamalaharris #democrats #dnc2024 #ivf #military #Election2024 #politics pic.twitter.com/z1uZWAx9BI
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) August 21, 2024
Walz has been dogged by accusations of inflating his military service, with critics pointing out that he has repeatedly implied he was deployed to war zones—a claim that is not supported by his actual service record. This controversy alone has been a significant issue for the Harris campaign, but a new wrinkle has added to the mounting concerns over Walz’s credibility.
Recently, during a rally in Arizona, Walz spoke about his personal experience with fertility treatments, stating, “This one’s personal for me about IVF and reproductive care. When we wanted to have children, we went through years of fertility treatment.” He further emphasized the point in an August 9th campaign video, where he stated, “If it was up to [Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH)], I wouldn’t have a family because of IVF, and the things that we need to do. … My kids were born that way.”
However, these claims were contradicted by his wife, Gwen Walz, who recently clarified that the couple did not use IVF to conceive their two children. Instead, they used intrauterine insemination (IUI), a different form of fertility treatment. In a statement to CNN, Gwen Walz shared, “Like so many who have experienced these challenges, we kept it largely to ourselves at the time—not even sharing the details with our wonderful and close family. The only person who knew in detail what we were going through was our next-door neighbor.”
The discrepancy between Walz’s public statements and the reality of the situation has sparked a backlash, particularly from Republican circles. National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Mike Berg took to social media to criticize Walz, asking, “Is there anything this guy doesn’t lie about?” Senator J.D. Vance also chimed in, questioning, “Who lies about something like that?”
Adding fuel to the fire, a spokeswoman for former President Donald Trump’s campaign, Karoline Leavitt, suggested that Walz’s credibility is increasingly in question. She criticized Walz not only for his misleading statements about his military service and fertility treatments but also for his refusal to conduct press interviews since becoming Harris’s running mate. “It has become increasingly clear that Tim Walz cannot be trusted,” Leavitt said. “The mainstream media needs to do their jobs and demand Tim Walz sits down for an interview to answer for his repeated false claims and lies.”
As the Harris campaign grapples with these revelations, the scrutiny on Walz is unlikely to subside. The controversy over his misleading claims has opened the door for further questioning of his credibility, casting a shadow over the campaign’s message as the election draws nearer.