(NewsNation) —Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz addressed criticism about his previous statement saying he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 saying he “misspoke” about his exact time there during the vice presidential debate against Ohio Senator JD Vance Tuesday.
“I got there that summer and misspoke on this,” Walz said during the debate in New York hosted by CBS News. “I was in Hong Kong in China during democracy protests and from that I learned a lot.”
Walz touted his time in the military saying that he became a teacher through the GI bill and then created a program to take students there as well.
“My commitment has been there from the beginning,” he said.
Multiple news reports indicated that Walz misleadingly claimed he was in Hong Kong during the turbulence surrounding the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
Walz suggested that he was in the then-British colony of Hong Kong in May 1989, but he appears to have been in Nebraska. Public records suggest he left for Hong Kong and China in August of that year.
Walz has faced criticism on several discrepancies.
Several Republicans, including Vance, had questioned Walz’ military service and retirement suggesting he abandoned his team to pursue a campaign for Congress.
“When the US Marine Corps asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it,” Vance posted on X in August. “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, he dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him. I think that’s shameful.”
Walz served a total of 24 years in various units and jobs in the Army National Guard.
The two-term Democratic governor retired from the National Guard in 2005 to run for Congress just before his unit received an order to mobilize for the war in Iraq.
There is no evidence that Walz timed his departure with the intent of avoiding deployment. But the fact remains that he left ahead of his unit’s departure. That departure became a major point of attack on Walz by his opponents.
The Harris campaign statement said Walz “would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country” and thanked “Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way.”
“After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform — and as Vice President of the United States he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families,” the Harris campaign said in August.
Walz was chosen by Vice President Kamala Harris to be her running mate in August after an exhaustive search of several high-profile candidates.
Walz has since been out on the campaign trail for Harris, promoting the vice president and saying he will do whatever it takes to get her elected in November.