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Tim Walz Said He Was in Hong Kong in 1989 During Tiananmen. Not True.
(www.nytimes.com)
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this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2024
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politics
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Okay so neither the CNN article or this article says that they've independently confirmed the reports/when the pictures in the articles were taken which i think is important but most importantly, this was 1989. He was 2-3 months off. This is likely just him misremembering from 35 years ago. He should have said he was there "around" tiananmen square but does that really matter much? CNN heard from a source close to Walz that said “the point Gov. Walz is making when he discusses this is that some folks in the World Teach program discussed dropping out after Tiananmen Square, but he continued on with the program because he believed it was important for the Chinese people to learn about American democracy and American history.” which makes sense.
CNN also said he has exaggerated the amount of trips he took to China saying 30 times once and dozens and dozens another time. They reached out to the Harris campaign who said it was likely closer to 15. When you go to a country that many fucking times it's not surprising to lose count. It's not like you're counting it. It's not hard to lose track. My mom has been to Greece tons of time to visit family but could she say how many times she's been there? Nope. She'd generalize because that's how that goes.
But of course we have to be pedantic and "fact check" this because it's important to be fair and who cares if we ignore some of the shitty things trump said during his rallies or how he's obviously mentally deteriorating, obviously Walz misremembering is so much more important. And obviously this shows it's a big scandal because earlier this year the news said that he said he carried weapons in war and he never served in combat even though he said he carried weapons of war during the war while he was stationed in the European theater. Which is accurate, but did the media care that's what he said? Nope. Walz isn't a consistent liar like Trump and Vance but sure let's equivocate them and Walz.
I've now been to Berlin at least 5 times in 28 years. I say at least because I now have to start rebuilding what happened when to have a truly accurate accounting. Once it gets above 10 I'm going to have to keep a note card reminder to have the number around.
Someone with Governor Walz's travel history would be just a blur unless you get official records or work really hard to remember exact trip counts.
Ask Felon Trump how many times he's been to Russia and see what guess he makes. This is a nothingburger of a story.
Right? At worst, Walz took the same risk (it was still a risky time in August) and came soon after. So being off by a few months after several decades has past isn't a big deal at all.
He didn't even lie, he just misremembered a minor detail. But he got the season right.