During the vice presidential debate between Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), the Minnesota governor showed again a penchant for pathological dishonesty.
Walz previously touted a visit to Hong Kong in 1989. He mentioned how the trip moved him because he was there during the infamous Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Walz made this claim many times, including during an interview on The Chad Hartman Show in 2019.
“I was in Hong Kong on June 4, 1989, when, of course, Tiananmen Square happened,” Walz said at the time. “And I was in China after that. It was very strange ’cause, of course, all outside transmissions were blocked, Voice of America, and, of course, there was no phones or email or anything. So I was kind of out of touch. It took me a month to know the Berlin Wall had fallen when I was living there.”
CNN reported that Walz made a similar claim during a 2009 congressional hearing commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. Walz said he was in Hong Kong on the day of the protests while preparing to teach in China.
“Twenty years ago today, I was in Hong Kong preparing to go to Foshan to teach at Foshan No. 1 Middle School,” Walz said. “To watch what happened at the end of the day on June 4 was something that many of us will never forget, we pledge to never forget, and bearing witness and accurate telling of history is absolutely crucial for any nation to move forward.”
It’s a heartwarming story by Walz. Too bad it’s not true.
Minnesota Public Radio News and APM Reports first revealed that Walz wasn’t anywhere near China then, but instead back home in Nebraska. For years, he has embellished this story to portray himself as more relevant and important.
Don’t you just hate it when you forget you weren’t in China during the Tiananmen Square massacre? Especially when you forget for nearly 15 years?
Of course, Walz tried to downplay his deceit. This is par for the course for him and his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris. When confronted about his lies by CBS News moderator Margaret Brennan, Walz claimed he misspoke and offered other explanations that didn’t make sense.
“Many times, I will talk a lot,” Walz said. “I will get caught up in rhetoric. But being there, the impact it made, the difference it made in my life, I learned a lot about China.
“Look, I will be the first to tell you I have poured my heart into my community,” Walz said. “I’ve tried to do the best I can, but I’ve not been perfect, and I’m a knucklehead at times.”
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But people don’t just forget that kind of thing, and neither did Walz. He didn’t “misspeak.” He didn’t “get caught up in rhetoric.” He may be a “knucklehead,” but he’s also a deceitful liar. He lied about being in Hong Kong in June 1989.
And, unlike the Minnesota governor, let’s be honest: Making up stories about being near Tiananmen Square is, as the Democratic nominee for vice president would say, just … weird.