Gov. Tim Walz faces more questions about his relationship with the truth after a new report shows he falsely claimed he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.
Its a topic that is expected to come up during the highly-anticipated first – and only – vice presidential debate that kicks off at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
‘I was in Hong Kong on June 4, 1989, when, of course, Tiananmen Square happened,’ Walz said in a June 2019 radio interview uncovered by CNN on Tuesday.
Walz repeated his statement that he was in Hong Kong during the protests during a congressional hearing in 2009.
‘Twenty years ago today, I was in Hong Kong preparing to go to Foshan to teach at Foshan No. 1 Middle School,’ he said on June 4, 2009.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz reportedly misstated his claim that he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests
‘To watch what happened at the end of the day on June 4 was something that many of us will never forget, we pledge to never forget, and bearing witness and accurate telling of history is absolutely crucial for any nation to move forward.’
Minnesota Public Radio first reported Monday that Walz was unable to produce documentation that he was actually in the country during the protest followed by an item from the Washington Free Beacon with more details about his false claim.
A Nebraska local news story published at that time noted that Walz had plans to leave to teach in China in early August, which would have placed him in the country much later than he claims.
The Trump campaign nicknamed Walz ‘Tiananmen Tim’ on social media late Monday, just hours before the vice presidential debate, calling him out for making the unsubstantiated claim.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz greets attendees at a tailgate outside Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan
In this June 5, 1989, file photo, a Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing’s Changan Blvd. in Tiananmen Square.
CNN also reported that Walz has exaggerated the number of trips to China. In 2016, he claimed he visited China ‘about 30 times’ and in a congressional meeting on China he claimed to have visited Hong Kong ‘dozens and dozens and dozens of times.’
But the Harris campaign told CNN the number of Walz trips to China were ‘likely closer to 15.’
Walz’s misrepresentations of his travel overseas only add to questions about his comments throughout his political career, including misstatements about his rank in the National Guard and he and his wife’s use of in-vitro fertilization to conceive his daughter.
Walz has dodged questions about his military service, including his false claim that he carried ‘weapons of war, that I carried in war’ even though he had never been deployed to a war zone.
‘My record speaks for itself but I think as people are coming to know me I speak like they do,’ Walz said in a CNN interview in August, dodging the question. ‘I speak candidly, I wear my emotions on my sleeves.’
He chalked up his misstatements to imprecise grammar.
‘My wife the English teacher tells me my grammar is not always correct,’ he added.
