‘Despicable’: Jesse Ventura Criticizes JD Vance For Accusing Tim Walz Of ‘Stolen Valor’

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura slammed Republican vice presidential candidate Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance for his comments on Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military service Friday.

During an appearance on CNN’s “Laura Coates Live,” he referred to Vance’s claim of stolen valor against Walz as “despicable” and accused him of disrespecting a fellow veteran.

Vance, who deployed to Iraq in 2005, accused Walz of stolen valor after video footage surfaced in which he seemed to imply that he had combat experience during his stint in the National Guard when he did not. (RELATED: Harris Campaign Quietly Scrubs ‘Retired Command Sergeant Major’ From Walz’s Bio)

When asked about Vance’s comments, Ventura said he believes “it’s shameful that a veteran would attack another veteran.”

He defended Gov. Walz, saying he “served honorably for 24 years” and that “after 20 years, you are eligible to retire at any time you deem necessary.”

The former governor argued that the National Guard should never have been deployed for foreign wars and lashed out at President George W. Bush’s administration.

“That happened because George W. Bush and Dick Cheney went into the Iraq War based on lies, no weapons of mass destruction, no ties to al-Qaeda, nothing with 9/11, and they ran out of bodies. They needed more bodies. They couldn’t implement a draft. That would be political suicide. So what George Bush did was sign an executive order sending the National Guard into foreign deployment,” Ventura added.

The former Minnesota governor also took aim at former President Donald Trump for avoiding the draft. “Donald Trump was your typical rich white boy who didn’t have to serve in Vietnam because he could buy his way out of it. And that’s who Vance is standing with, this guy who leads from the rear?” he said.

Trump obtained five deferments that kept him in the United States instead of being sent to Vietnam. Four of these were for education while one was for a medical condition in his feet, according to Business Insider.

Ventura also took the opportunity to publicly endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency. He recounted being able to see the United States elect its first black president and expressed his desire to see the first female president. “I’ve only got a few elections to go. I’m 73 years old now, so the window is closing. I want to be alive to see the first woman president of the United States of America and the first woman Commander-in-Chief, and we’ve got her right now,” he said.

The controversy surrounding Gov. Walz’s military service centers on his decision to retire from the Minnesota National Guard in 2005, just before his battalion was set to deploy to Iraq. Critics have accused him of abandoning his unit at a crucial time.