Tim Walz heckled by veterans for stolen valor claims, China connections

Veterans heckled Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., for stolen valor claims during remarks at a veterans rally at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul on Wednesday.

As Walz welcomed the veterans to the Capitol for the annual “Veterans Day on the Hill,” he was met by a fiery crowd who called him a “coward” and criticized him for sympathizing with China, according to footage captured by KSTP.

“Coward! You sympathize with the Chinese!” some veterans holding American flags and “take action” signs shouted at the Democratic governor as he welcomed them to the Capitol. 

“Sir, you’re welcome to come… Let me finish!” Walz replied as he tried to ease tensions while another veteran shouted: “Shut your f—ing mouth!” 

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“Woah, hey — there’s some passion in the building, which is a good thing,” Walz said before beginning his address. 

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Footage of the hecklers disrupting Walz’s remarks has gone viral on social media, with conservative influencers celebrating the criticism. 

Walz faced accusations of stolen valor during the 2024 presidential election for inconsistencies describing his military service. 

Walz is a veteran, having served in the Minnesota National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery after transferring from the Nebraska National Guard in 1996. He retired as a master sergeant in 2005.

The former vice presidential candidate was accused of stolen valor for retiring just months before his battalion deployed to Iraq as war raged in the Middle East following the 9/11 attacks. Walz put in his papers for retirement at least five months before his battalion received deployment orders, according to the Minnesota National Guard.

Walz was also discovered to have claimed several times that he retired as a command sergeant major, which is not accurate — he reverted to his previous rank upon retirement because he did not complete the necessary corresponding coursework, the National Guard has said.

Walz’s decades-long ties to China also came to light when Vice President Kamala Harris picked him as her running mate last summer. He worked briefly in China as a teacher, traveling to Guangdong in 1989 for a teaching-abroad program to teach English and American history. 

Walz was initially believed to have made dozens of trips to China over his lifetime, but a campaign spokesperson later tried to walk that number back and said he made approximately 15 visits to China. He also boasted about Minnesota hosting several top Chinese leaders in a letter unearthed by Fox News Digital.

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The 2024 campaign trail brought Walz’s inconsistencies regarding his background into the national conversation. Walz said he “misspoke” when he claimed he visited Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and incorrectly claimed his family used in vitro fertilization. Walz laughed off the missteps, calling himself a “knucklehead.”

The Commanders’ Task Force and Minnesota Association of County Veterans Service Officers hosted the rally in the Rotunda that erupted in boos for Walz on Wednesday. The annual event is designed to streamline communication between Minnesota elected officials and veterans. 

Once the fury settled, Walz committed to upholding budget protections for veterans during his remarks, in light of Minnesota budget negotiations and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leading efforts to cut spending and lay off federal employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 

Walz did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.