Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) tore into CNN senior fact-checker Daniel Dale over his on-air declaration that Waltz was wrong about the Biden administration leaning in to developing and building electric tanks for the U.S. Army.
Waltz made the comment during his speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC), where he talked about military strength and readiness and argued that under President Joe Biden — and under the thumb of the climate agenda — American military priorities were all wrong.
Dale responded by claiming that Waltz — a combat veteran and a Green Beret — was wrong about the Biden administration’s push to build electric tanks.
Waltz pushed back first in a post on X, sharing an article from Inside Defense with the comment, “‘The Army intends to field all-electric tanks by 2050, a top service energy and environment official told Inside Defense.’ You can retract your ‘fact-check’ from TV last night on my speech.”
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) July 18, 2024
Waltz took it a step further during a follow-up appearance on CNN, where he argued that Dale should not have delivered a fact-check on national television if he did not have all of the facts himself.
WATCH:
CNN “fact checker” @ddale8 should actually CHECK HIS FACTs before going on live national television after my RNC speech and questioning my credibility about Biden‘s electric tanks! pic.twitter.com/mPx9Sm4RiZ
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) July 19, 2024
Waltz brought Dale into the conversation, prompting his interviewer to read back what he’d said about Biden “focusing on building electric tanks” and noting that it appeared to come from an Army climate strategy plan that mentioned going electric with tactical vehicles.
“Wrong,” Waltz cut him off, citing a Bloomberg report and testimony from the Secretary of the Army — along with a budget report indicating that funding was being set aside for development — and argued that Dale should sit down with some of the same people he had if he really wanted the facts.
The interviewer tried to object, saying that Dale would probably be happy to speak with anyone — but Waltz pointed out that he should have done so before he called into question the “credibility” of a sitting member of Congress on live television.
“Getting to the truth is a process,” the interviewer hedged.
Waltz made it clear that he was having none of it, adding, “But literally minutes after my speech, he’s telling the world I’m misleading. There’s no way he could review the Army’s budget, the research and development, the testimony that I personally received under oath – or how about just Google and get the facts?”
