On Friday, Michael Smerconish of CNN characterized the statements made by presumptive Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz regarding his DUI arrest as “indefensible.” According to a report from CNN on Thursday, the Walz campaign had, in 2006, “repeatedly made false statements” asserting that Walz was not consuming alcohol on the night of his 1995 arrest for driving 96 mph in a 55-mph zone in Nebraska, as documented in court records. Smerconish expressed to CNN host Kasie Hunt that the issue of Walz’s DUI is of greater significance than the Minnesota governor’s misrepresentation of his military service.
“I thought the DUI issue was a really significant and serious issue. I know that Republicans have spent a lot of time talking about the alleged stolen valor,” Smerconish said, raising his fingers into air-quotes. “My own opinion, for what it’s worth, having studied the facts, is that there’s no there-there. Walz spoke sloppily, should not have represented a role that he had as having been a permanent role when it wasn’t. But the DUI story is indefensible.”
“Kasie, you and I know a thing or two about congressional campaigns,” Smerconish continued. “They’re very small, they’re very tight. There’s usually like a campaign manager and a paid spokesperson, and that’s it, so the idea that this came from his spokesperson and it didn’t come from him? I don’t buy it.”
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Smerconish remarked that it is a “genuine concern” that Walz attempted to attribute his unsuccessful sobriety test to hearing impairment resulting from his service in the National Guard. According to CNN, Walz registered a blood alcohol concentration of 0.128, which is considerably above the legal threshold of 0.1 at that time, following a blood test administered after a state trooper transported him to a hospital.
“In the end, it’s gonna be about the top of the ticket. But to me, the DUI is bigger than the stolen valor allegation. Not because of the drinking, but because of the lie,” Smerconish said.
“How do you think the Harris campaign should be dealing with this right now?” Hunt then asked Smerconish.
“Full on, and it makes me wonder whether in the vetting process — maybe this is as a result of the expedited nature of her ascendancy as the candidate — but it makes me wonder how much they really knew about it. I’m sure they knew of the DWI, but it makes me wonder whether they were aware of all the underlying facts,” he responded.
