Gov. Tim Walz is facing more questions about his relationship with the truth after a new report found he falsely claimed he was in Hong Kong during the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.
It’s a topic expected to come up during the highly anticipated first – and only – vice presidential debate starting at 9 PM ET on CBS.
“I was in Hong Kong on June 4, 1989, when of course Tiananmen Square happened,” Walz said in a radio interview in June 2019 exposed Tuesday by CNN.
Walz reiterated his statement that he was in Hong Kong during the protests during a 2009 Congressional hearing.
“Twenty years ago today, I was in Hong Kong preparing to go to Foshan to teach at the Foshan No. 1 Middle School,” he said on June 4, 2009.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz reportedly misstated his claim that he was in Hong Kong during the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square
“To see what happened at the end of the day on June 4 was something that many of us will never forget, we promise we will never forget, and bearing witness and telling history accurately is absolutely crucial for any country to move forward.”
Minnesota Public Radio first reported On Monday, Walz was unable to provide documentation proving he was actually in the country during the protest, followed by an item from the Washington Free Beacon showing more details about his false claim.
A local news story from Nebraska published noted at the time that Walz had plans to leave for China to teach 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, and called him out for making the baseless 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 Boulevard. in Tiananmen Square.
CNN also reported that Walz has exaggerated the number of trips to China. In 2016, he claimed he had visited China “about thirty times” and during a congressional meeting on China, he claimed he had visited Hong Kong “dozens and dozens and dozens of times.”
But the Harris campaign told CNN that the number of Walz trips to China was “probably closer to 15.”
Walz’s misrepresentations about his travels abroad only add to questions about his comments throughout his political career, including misstatements about his rank in the National Guard and his and his wife’s use of in vitro fertilization to father his daughter.
Walz has dodged questions about his military service, including his own false claim that he “carried weapons of war, which I carried in the war,” even though he had never been deployed to a war zone.
“My record speaks for itself, but I think as people get to know me, I speak like them,” Walz said in a CNN interview in August, dodging the question. ‘I speak candidly, I wear my emotions on my sleeves.’
He attributed his inaccuracies to inaccurate grammar.
“My wife, the English teacher, tells me that my grammar is not always correct,” he added.