When Tim Walz first ran for Congress in 2006, his campaign made false claims about his 1995 arrest for drunk driving. Court and police records show that Walz admitted to drinking and driving 96 mph in a 55 mph zone in Nebraska. He was taken to a hospital where a blood test showed his alcohol level was 0.128, above the legal limit of 0.1.
Walz accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to reckless driving. In a March 1996 court hearing, he admitted to drinking and driving. His lawyer mentioned that Walz wanted to use the experience to teach his students about the dangers of drunk driving. Walz described the situation as dangerous not only for himself but for others as well.
His lawyer also explained that Walz thought he was being chased when the state trooper started following him, which caused him to speed up until the police lights came on. Walz reported the incident to his school, stepped down from coaching, and even offered to resign from teaching.
However, his 2006 campaign falsely claimed he wasn’t drinking and that his failed sobriety test was due to hearing issues. They also said he drove himself to jail, which wasn’t true. A CNN review revealed that the campaign’s statements didn’t match the events. The police report and state police confirmed that a state trooper took Walz to jail.
In 2006, a local Republican blog reported that he had been jailed for DUI based on his speeding and DUI ticket. The blog later published the police report, suggesting the campaign’s claims were false, but local media didn’t follow up.
A local newspaper, citing the Walz campaign, reported that Walz denied being drunk and explained that his hearing issues, due to his National Guard service, made it hard for him to understand the trooper during the sobriety test.
Meredith Salsbery, Walz’s campaign communications director, explained that Walz had trouble understanding the trooper during the sobriety test due to his hearing issues, and the trooper didn’t try to help. She said the DUI charges were dropped because there wasn’t enough evidence, and Walz drove to and from the police station without any issues. She didn’t think the trooper would have let him drive if there was a problem.
Walz’s campaign manager, Kerry Greeley, shared a story similar to that of another local paper. She acknowledged Walz was speeding but insisted he wasn’t drunk. She attributed the misunderstanding to Walz’s deafness. She mentioned that the judge dismissed the DUI charges and criticized the officer for not recognizing Walz’s condition. She also claimed that his deafness contributed to his inability to walk straight.
She had no explanation for how deafness would affect a breathalyzer.
Walz has since admitted to drinking and driving during his 2018 run for governor of Minnesota. He said his arrest was a turning point in his life and made him change his habits. He has since stopped drinking alcohol and now drinks Diet Mountain Dew instead.
Now that Walz is the Democratic vice presidential nominee, there’s more focus on his 1995 arrest and how his campaign misrepresented it.
It’s just the latest in a series of lies and misrepresentations. Walz faces continued criticism for incorrectly stating his military rank. He called himself a “command sergeant major” even though he retired as a “sergeant major.” The difference is important because a command sergeant major has a more senior leadership role than a sergeant major. The Harris campaign was forced to change its website content to reflect the truth.
Walz’s supporters say that if there was any mistake, it was not intentional, and they highlight his long and respected military service. But it’s hard to understand how someone “accidentally” misrepresents a title. Retail workers don’t “accidentally” refer to themselves as the company’s CEO.
However, Walz is also criticized for his military service for another reason.
Walz joined the Nebraska National Guard in 1981 and moved to the Minnesota National Guard in 1996. He retired in May 2005, just before his unit was scheduled to deploy to Iraq.
Some people, including Republican VP nominee JD Vance, have accused Walz of retiring to avoid deployment. Walz and his supporters argue that his retirement was not meant to dodge deployment and that he had already planned to run for Congress before his unit was called up.
Tim Walz’s path from his early campaign mistakes to becoming a vice presidential nominee shows a dizzying array of changing stories. This alone qualifies him as a Democratic candidate, even if his open hatred of Jews and embrace of socialism alone do not.
