CNN Newsroom host Jim Acosta played T-ball with Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss on Tuesday. Instead of grilling Auchincloss about Tim Walz’s problematic portrayal of aspects of his military service, Acosta wondered if it was “healthy” for JD Vance to even talk about it. Additionally, Acosta, who usually claims to be a stickler for the truth, did not correct Auchincloss when he repeated Walz’s incorrect rank.

At the end of the interview, Acosta declared, “I did want to get your reaction to some of these comments by JD Vance going after Kamala Harris's vice presidential running mate, Tim Walz, in his 24 years of service in the National Guard. You served in the Marine Corps.”

 

 

He then asked, “Is that healthy to see that sort of thing going back and forth? Obviously, we saw this launched by JD Vance after Tim Walz was named as Kamala Harris' running mate.”

The closest Acosta got to any details was an on screen graphic that acknowledged the campaign claiming Walz "misspoke" about carrying certain weapons "in war" during a pitch for gun control, but if you just had the TV on as background noise, you would've missed it.

As for Auchincloss, he replied, “No, it's despicable and desperate. JD Vance started off his campaign attacking women. Then he attacked the police, saying he hates the police. Now, he's attacking veterans. It just seems like he can't help himself but alienate broad swaths of the American electorate and take politics to a gutter, and it's not who we are as a country.”

Auchincloss also asserted, “Tim Walz served honorably for 24 years. He deployed multiple times to disaster areas. He made a decision about running for Congress before his battalion received notice that it was going to deploy to Iraq. When he realized that they were deploying to Iraq, he struggled with that decision, decided he could do more good in Congress for veterans, and he did. He became the top Democrat on the Veterans Affairs Committee, went on to expand access to the G.I. Bill and mental health services for our veterans.”

Finally, he added, “And to go after a former command sergeant major who gave back to his country for a quarter of a century out of political expedience is despicable, and it says a lot more about JD Vance than it does about Tim Walz.”

Acosta did not correct the record by pointing out Walz did not retire at that rank, nor did he point out that Walz’s former superior claimed, on CNN of all places, that Walz broke military procedure in filing for retirement because Walz knew that he might have rejected it.

Here is a transcript for the August 13 show:

CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta

8/13/2024

10:24 AM ET

JIM ACOSTA: And, Congressman, just finally, I did want to get your reaction to some of these comments by JD Vance going after Kamala Harris's vice presidential running mate, Tim Walz, in his 24 years of service in the National Guard. You served in the Marine Corps. Is that healthy to see that sort of thing going back and forth? Obviously, we saw this launched by JD Vance after Tim Walz was named as Kamala Harris's running mate.

JAKE AUCHINCLOSS: No, it's despicable and desperate. JD Vance started off his campaign attacking women. Then he attacked the police, saying he hates the police. Now, he's attacking veterans. It just seems like he can't help himself but alienate broad swaths of the American electorate and take politics to a gutter, and it's not who we are as a country.

Tim Walz served honorably for 24 years. He deployed multiple times to disaster areas. He made a decision about running for Congress before his battalion received notice that it was going to deploy to Iraq. When he realized that they were deploying to Iraq, he struggled with that decision, decided he could do more good in Congress for veterans, and he did. He became the top Democrat on the Veterans Affairs Committee, went on to expand access to the G.I. Bill and mental health services for our veterans.

And to go after a former command sergeant major who gave back to his country for a quarter of a century out of political expedience is despicable, and it says a lot more about JD Vance than it does about Tim Walz.

ACOSTA: All right. Congressman Jake Auchincloss, thank you very much for your time this morning. We appreciate it.