CNN anchor Brianna Keilar appears to be walking back her swipe against Trump running mate Sen. JD Vance, insisting he served honorably after facing backlash for suggesting he embellished his military service.
Informed observers connected to politics or the military, myself included, have noted that the Trump campaign is 'swiftboating' Tim Walz. Attacks on JD Vance's service are also offensive, Keilar began a monologue on Friday. JD Vance served honorably in Iraq, a combat zone where anything can happen and frequently does. As he said in his book, he was, quote, 'lucky to escape any real fighting.' That doesn't make his service less than. 'Lucky,' he says. And luck is often what makes the difference in a combat zone or even a training mission. That today is not your day.
In a country where so few shoulder the burden, military service should not be a liability, it should be an asset, she continued. And despite our recent years as a country at war, many service members haven't seen combat. That doesn't make them or their service less admirable, or less necessary. Nor does retiring from the National Guard after 24 years. These kinds of attacks from the left or the right diminish the service of so many others who have served honorably, who sacrifice time away from family, who put themselves in harm's way because the military is made largely of JD Vances and Tim Walzs.
The liberal anchor marveled that there are two veterans on these presidential tickets, something that has been absent in recent presidential elections. |