Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz admitted to having misspoke in the past about being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989. He clarified that he was in Hong Kong during the summer of the protests, but not during the violent events in June. Walz said his misstatements were due to “rhetorical exuberance” rather than a deliberate attempt to mislead.
The revelation creates a vulnerability as it contradicts one of Vice President Kamala Harris’ key arguments against former President Donald Trump – that he can’t be trusted to tell the truth. Walz tried to refocus the question during a debate with Sen. JD Vance, emphasizing his role as a young teacher taking students to China to study a different culture.
He first visited China in 1989 after college graduation and spent a year teaching in Foshan. Walz has previously claimed to be in Hong Kong when the Tiananmen Square events occurred, but the timing was questioned by a report from Minnesota Public Radio. The campaign did not dispute Walz’s error but clarified that he made around 15 trips to China, not the 30 he had claimed in the past. Overall, Walz’s intention was to help Chinese people learn about American democracy and history despite the political turmoil in their country.
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