On Thursday, CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta hosted former Special Assistant to President Trump Marc Lotter. During the interview, Acosta attacked Republicans for scrutinizing Walz’s military embellishments and wondering “why you would even want to have this conversation.”

Acosta began the segment by mentioning that J.D. Vance has been “going after” Walz’s military record. He wondered if that was a “good idea” for Vance since “Donald Trump avoided the draft in Vietnam.” Acosta also added that Trump claimed to have had “bone spurs,” which was why he didn’t go to Vietnam.

 

 

Lotter responded by making Acosta aware that nobody was “questioning Tim Walz’s service to our country,” but rather is something that “we thank him for.” He stated that the real question is whether or not Walz has “embellished his record” since leaving the military:

I think the question is, has he embellished his record, whether it's whether he actually carried a weapon in an area of war, whether he was a command master sergeant or retired as a master sergeant or as even a release that came out prior to his retiring, who admitted. He said, “I want to go to Iraq with my team if it's called up” and then he quit when those men and women needed him most when they got called to service in Iraq, he retired.

Of course, Acosta jumped in to defend Walz, insisting, “You know that he made it clear he was going to run for Congress that year and he started the process of getting out of the National Guard.”

Further on in the interview, Lotter reiterated to Acosta that nobody is questioning whether or not Walz served, but it’s rather a “question of did you inflate your record or did you inflate your accomplishments after the fact for political gain.” He professed that this is a “legitimate line of questioning for people to ask themselves.”

Unsurprisingly, Acosta wanted to bash Trump a little more as he said “There's also the issue, Marc, as you know, I mean, Donald Trump once described the veterans and soldiers who had died in combat as suckers and losers,” a theory that he claimed has “been reported and established.”

Lotter responded to Acosta, who was still unsure of “why you would even want to have this conversation,” by reminding him that “there have been dozens of people, I think at least 18 people who have debunked that theory. They've said that never happened.”

Click "Expand" to view the transcript:

CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta

8/8/2024

10:12 PM ET

JIM ACOSTA: Yesterday, we heard JD Vance going after Tim Walz's military record. I mean, you worked in politics for a long time, worked in communications, worked as a press secretary for a long time. Is that a good idea for JD Vance to go after Tim Walz's military record when Donald Trump avoided the draft in Vietnam, he claimed to have bone spurs, the daughter of the doctor who said that Donald Trump had bone spurs, told the New York Times, once that he gave that he gave diagnosis to help Donald Trump avoid service in Vietnam. I mean, is this a fight that you really want to have?

MARC LOTTER: Well, I think there's two things that-- two different things here. Number one, I don't think anyone is questioning Tim Walz’s service to our country. He served 24 years and we thank him for doing that. I think the question is, has he embellished his record whether it's whether he actually carried a weapon in an area of war, whether he was a command master sergeant or retired as a master sergeant or as even a release that came out prior to his retiring, who admitted. He said, “I want to go to Iraq with my team if it's called up” and then he quit when those men and women needed him most when they got called to service in Iraq, he retired and so—

ACOSTA: But Marc, you know that but you know that he made it clear he was going to run for Congress that year and he started the process of getting out of the National Guard.

…

LOTTER: But this isn't about whether you served or not because no one questions whether they're Tim Walz served. It's a question of did you inflate your record or did you inflate your accomplishments after the fact for political gain? And I think that's a very legitimate line of questioning for people to ask themselves.

ACOSTA: There's also the issue, Marc, as you know, I mean, Donald Trump once described the veterans and soldiers who had died in combat as suckers and losers. That's been reported and established. Again, I— it just escapes me why you would even want to have this conversation.

LOTTER: Well, everyone else, there have been dozens of people I think at least 18 people who have debunked that theory. They've said that never happened.