The first rule of fact-checking is to examine what the person you are fact-checking actually said, but MSNBC’s Ali Velshi broke this simple rule on Wednesday as he guest-hosted Alex Wagner Tonight and took GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance out of context in order to rule him “entirely false” for condemning his Democratic counterpart, Tim Walz, for misrepresenting his military service.

Velshi teed up a clip of Vance by claiming, “It does seem that both JD Vance and Donald Trump have found potentially potent lines of attack. The issue with those lines of attack, of course, is that they are entirely false.”

In the clip, Vance accused Walz of retiring from the National Guard in order to avoid service in Iraq:

What really bothers me about Tim Walz, it's not even the positions that he's taken, though certainly he has been a far-left radical, you know what bothers me about Tim Walz, as a Marine who served his country in uniform? When the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do and I did it honorably, and I'm very proud of that service. When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq? You know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him. What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you're not.

Vance also cited Walz justifying his calls for gun control by claiming he simply wants to ban weapons he carried “in war,” but Velshi didn’t play that part and completely ignored Walz’s claim.

Instead, Velshi fact-checked a straw man:

[Walz] responded to floods and tornadoes and he spent months on active duty overseas doing things like training our NATO allies in Italy. Now, Walz has never claimed that he had a combat role in the military. He's never had one.

But that's not the point, because there's an understanding among people who served this country in the military that you have answered a sacred call no matter what you are, whether you're in reserve or you're active duty, no matter whether you're a cook or mechanic or fighter pilot, no matter whether you serve at home or abroad, you see combat or not. Tim Walz never saw combat. But you know who else didn't see combat? JD Vance.

Vance was a civil affairs Marine who took photos, wrote stories, and escorted journalists around Iraq. But that doesn't matter because neither of these two men have ever pretended they had combat roles. They both had incredibly important non-combat roles, and they are both veterans. And we should be grateful to both of them for their service to this nation.

Velshi is correct, if Walz had just said, “I served in the National Guard for 24 years,” even Republicans would find that admirable, but he embellished his record in order to create a fallacious appeal to authority argument in favor of gun control, and that’s the problem.

Walz also embellished his rank, but, again, Velshi ignored that, “The only reason Walz ultimately left the National Guard was to run for Congress. I mean, to go back and listen to how he presented himself even in that very first run for office, doesn't sound like stolen valor to me.”

Irony officially being dead, Velshi played a radio of Walz’s 2006 congressional campaign, “I am a retired command sergeant major in the Minnesota National Guard.”

Before he appoints himself the guardian of truth, Velshi should at least learn what the definitions of “entirely” and “false” are.

Here is a transcript for the August 7 show:

MSNBC Alex Wagner Tonight

8/7/2024

9:02 PM ET

ALI VELSHI: It does seem that both JD Vance and Donald Trump have found potentially potent lines of attack. The issue with those lines of attack, of course, is that they are entirely false.

JD VANCE: What really bothers me about Tim Walz, it's not even the positions that he's taken, though certainly he has been a far-left radical, you know what bothers me about Tim Walz, as a Marine who served his country in uniform? When the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do and I did it honorably, and I'm very proud of that service. When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq? You know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him. What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you're not.

VELSHI: Do not pretend to be something you're not. We’re just going to put that aside as it relates to JD Vance for a little while because I want to talk about this particular issue.

On its face, with no context or fact-checking, that line of attack, the idea that governor Tim Walz is lying about his military service, is potent. We saw an incredibly similar fabricated line of attack in 2004 against the then-Democratic nominee for president, John Kerry. And those completely made-up attacks led to nearly 20 percent of voters saying they didn't think that Kerry deserved his war medals. 

I should note that the one person who orchestrated that fabricated line of attack against John Kerry was Chris LaCivita, who is now Donald Trump's chief campaign strategist, but like in Kerry's case back in 2004, this allegation of stolen valor against Walz is just wrong. Tim Walz served in the National Guard for 24 years. He responded to floods and tornadoes and he spent months on active duty overseas doing things like training our NATO allies in Italy. Now, Walz has never claimed that he had a combat role in the military. He's never had one.

But that's not the point, because there's an understanding among people who served this country in the military that you have answered a sacred call no matter what you are, whether you're in reserve or you're active duty, no matter whether you're a cook or mechanic or fighter pilot, no matter whether you serve at home or abroad, you see combat or not. Tim Walz never saw combat. But you know who else didn't see combat? JD Vance.

Vance was a civil affairs Marine who took photos, wrote stories, and escorted journalists around Iraq. But that doesn't matter because neither of these two men have ever pretended they had combat roles. They both had incredibly important non-combat roles, and they are both veterans. And we should be grateful to both of them for their service to this nation. The only reason Walz ultimately left the National Guard was to run for Congress. I mean, to go back and listen to how he presented himself even in that very first run for office, doesn't sound like stolen valor to me.

TIM WALZ [2006]: I am a retired command sergeant major in the Minnesota National Guard. And after years of firing artillery, I sustained severe inner ear damage. Because I have good health insurance provided through my employer, I was able to have surgery on my ear. As my ear healed, my hearing was gradually restored. 

One morning several weeks after the surgery, I awoke to a sound I couldn't identify. I asked my wife what I was hearing and she told me, "Tim, that's your 4-year-old daughter, Hope."

You see, Hope wakes up singing every morning, but I had never heard that sound until that day. I’m running for Congress because I believe we as a country have a moral obligation to ensure that every father can hear his daughter sing, that every citizen receives the best care our medical community has to offer. I’m Tim Walz, and I approve this message because I've heard how important healthcare is to everyone.