CNN’s Jim Acosta was forced to correct a top Harris surrogate who suggested the GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance never served in the military on Wednesday.
Late. 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 latest claim that Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is misleading the country about his veteran status. Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in Iraq long before entering politics, but that was news to Smith.
“Here’s 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 that JD Vance never served in the military. (Screenshot/CNN)
Acosta, who was a key Trump antagonist when he served as CNN’s White House Reporterdidn’t jump right in but corrected Smith before she finished her next sentence.
“He was in the Marine Corps,” Acosta said.
Smith replied, “OK, excuse me for that,” before quickly moving on.
On Wednesday, Vance, who served as a corporal in the public affairs division of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, accused Walz of shirking his military service.
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GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps 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 asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did,” 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 quit the Army and let his unit go without him, a fact he has been aggressively criticized by many people he served with.”
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Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagström contributed to this report.