Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), was introduced as “command sergeant major” before a meeting at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday despite Walz’s documented retirement from the Army National Guard as a master sergeant.
The Minnesota governor has faced criticism of “stolen valor” for claiming that he retired from the Army National Guard after achieving the rank of command sergeant major despite retiring before his unit was deployed to Iraq and before he completed the required coursework for the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.
During a meeting on Monday, Bel Leong-Hong, the DNC’s Asian American and Pacific Islander caucus chairwoman, introduced Walz, saying, “I am so excited and so proud to welcome our vice-presidential candidate, soon to be nominee for vice president, Command Master Sergeant — and I’m going to start with the title that is very important to me — the Command Sergeant Major, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota.”
Leong-Hong also described Walz as a “joyful warrior” for the Democratic Party as Walz entered and event attendees cheered before Monday’s event.
According to The New York Post, while the Harris campaign recently removed a reference to Walz as “command sergeant major” from the 2024 Democratic nominee’s campaign website amid the controversy, Walz did not correct the Asian American and Pacific Islander caucus chairwoman on Monday.
READ MORE: Video: Harris’ VP ‘lied about his service for political gain,’ Vance says
In response to the Democratic National Convention introducing Walz as “command sergeant major” despite the Minnesota governor retiring as a master sergeant since he did not complete the required coursework to retain the title of command sergeant major, former President Donald Trump’s campaign released a statement alongside a video of Monday’s announcement on social media.
“Freakish Timothy Walz was just introduced the DNC ‘AAPI Caucus Meeting’ as ‘Command Sergeant Major,’” Trump War Room tweeted. “Walz never completed the coursework to become a Command Sergeant Major and abandoned his unit right as they were deploying to Iraq.”
