When vice presidential candidate Tim Walz ran for Congress in 2006, he embellished a connection to Harvard University.
The biographical embellishment is especially concerning considering Walz had routinely mocked GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance for leaving poverty and attending Yale University.
The misleading information was included in a biography Walz used to launch his 2006 campaign.
“Harvard University offered Walz an opportunity to gain a new perspective on global education by teaching in the People’s Republic of China,” the biography said.
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As The Washington Free Beacon reported, Walz’s congressional biography – published after Walz won his first election – said the same thing. A 2018 version of his biography said Walz’s teaching in China was the result of a “program at Harvard University,” according to the Free Beacon.
Walz taught in China but has never been considered a Harvard student or alumnus. He taught through a program called WorldTeach, a nonprofit founded by Harvard undergraduates in 1986. It was once funded by Harvard’s Phillips Brooks House Association, which has been characterized as “a student-run community service group” by the Harvard Crimson. The PBHA provides resources to numerous nonprofit organizations and also makes it easier for Harvard students to obtain volunteer opportunities. WorldTeach, however, has never been an official Harvard program.
Walz no longer mentions any Harvard connections in his current biographies.
Walz has been traveling the country to campaign and, in doing so, has repeatedly mocked Vance for escaping poverty and attending Yale University. At one event last week, Walz seemingly insulted his former high school classmates in an attempt to mock Vance.
“I had 24 kids in my high school class and none of them went to Yale,” Walz said, according to The Hill. “But I’ll tell you what, growing up in a small town like that, you learn to take care of each other.”
Vance responded to the dig by saying he was proud of his accomplishments.
“As you guys know, I grew up in a very poor family. I was raised by a grandmother who didn’t graduate from high school, much less from college, and I’m proud of the fact that she really worked her tail off, that she, you know, went to her grave fighting to give me opportunities,” Vance told Fox News. “I’m not ashamed of the fact that my grandmother sacrificed for me and I was able to live the American Dream.”
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“I’m proud of what I accomplished, and more importantly, I’m proud of all the people who sacrificed in order to give me a better life,” Vance said later in the program. “I would think Tim Walz would want to praise people who sacrificed to give their children and grandchildren a better life. Not put me down, but I guess this is the political order of the day. He’s going to attack me. That’s fine, but I’m proud of my family.”
It’s not the first time Walz has embellished or misled about his life, nor is it the first time he has done so when it comes to teaching.
Walz, a former high school teacher, repeatedly claimed or implied he had won “Teacher of the Year” awards,” leading many to believe he had won a statewide or national award. But Walz had won a local teacher of the year award and an additional award for ethics.
