Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax on Thursday that Democrats underestimated how big a deal stolen valor is to the military veteran community and how much offense veterans take when allegations of stolen valor surface such as those against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running for president, announced Walz as her running mate for the Democrat ticket on Tuesday.
"What I think ... is they underestimated how truly big this issue is, especially to we in the veteran community who served in two straight decades of warfare for no apparent reason – just a lot of blood and treasure gone," Holt said during an appearance on "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE." "And our country looking for answers as to why we're doing these things."
Holt said it was interesting to see the Minnesota National Guard make a statement on Walz's military service record, given that the governor sits at the top of the chain of command.
"Look, it's really telling that the Minnesota Guard public affairs officer put something out to clarify that he was guilty of stolen valor, because in the hierarchy, you've got the governor of Minnesota, of which he is being the commander in chief of the Guard, and yet, the Guard took that step," he said.
"Have you ever seen a bust-out of the chain of command like that? I think that — and I'm hopeful that — we will see accountability down the road."
The retired Air Force officer also commented on a 2007 interview Walz gave, in which he claimed he was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Holt seemed to agree with host Higbie's assessment that Walz was not in a deployable status at the time of the interview.
"It's all there and it's just in complete black and white. That gets to the character issue.
"So when we shift this to the seriousness of the matter, you want this guy to be No. 2 in line to the nuclear football, and yet, he's taught high school in China, has a honeymoon that was connected to the anniversary of Tiananmen Square, has a Chinese police station in his state, puts tampons in bathrooms for boys, and then was there and presided over the burning down of Minneapolis," Holt continued.
"Character, character, character. Stolen valor — is that a big shock? No, it shouldn't be. That's actually consistent with the life of a lack of integrity."
Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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