(Daily Caller News Foundation) — Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz faltered when pressed to clarify his previous claims that he was present in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 during the vice presidential debate against Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.
Despite earlier claims of being in the region during the pivotal events of spring 1989, credible reports from Minnesota Public Radio and other outlets have shown that Walz did not travel to Asia until several months later, as pointed out by the debate host. When confronted with the discrepancy by the host, Walz responded with a lengthy discourse on his background and various accomplishments.
“Well, and to the folks out there who didn’t get at the top of this, look, I grew up in small rural Nebraska, a town of 400, a town that you rode your bike with your buddies till the street lights come on, and I’m proud of that service,” Walz said when asked to explain the discrepancy on his claims. “I joined the National Guard at 17, worked on family farms, and then I used the GI Bill to become a teacher, passionate about it, a young teacher. My first year out, I got the opportunity in the summer of ’89 to travel to China.”
“I will be the first to tell you, I have poured my heart into my community, I’ve tried to do the best I can, but I’ve not been perfect, and I’m a knucklehead at times, but it’s always been about that,” Walz continued.
Walz then used the opportunity to critique former President Donald Trump’s policies toward China, suggesting that firsthand experiences like his own could have informed better diplomatic strategies.
“I guarantee you he wouldn’t be praising Xi Jinping about COVID, and I guarantee you he wouldn’t start a trade war that he ends up losing,” Walz added.
However, when pressed for a direct answer by moderators regarding the timeline conflict, Walz admitted to a possible slip in his earlier statements.
“No, just all I said on this was I got there that summer and misspoke on this. So I will just, that’s what I’ve said,” he continued. “So I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protest, went in. And from that, I learned a lot of what needed to be in governance.”
Detractors have scrutinized Walz’s ties to China, pointing out his honeymoon there, his marriage on the Tiananmen Square massacre anniversary and his commendations of China’s communist regime—developments that China experts argue warrant attention as he approaches the White House.
This article was originally published at the Daily Caller News Foundation.
