Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose military service has come under heavy scrutiny, “misspoke” in a 2018 video where he is heard talking about his handling of weapons “in war,” a Harris campaign spokesperson said Friday.

“Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country — in fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way,” the Harris campaign spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News. 

“In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke. He did handle weapons of war and believes strongly that only military members trained to carry those deadly weapons should have access to them, unlike Donald Trump and JD Vance who prioritize the gun lobby over our children,” the spokesperson added.

I SERVED WITH TIM WALZ AS A REPUBLICAN IN THE HOUSE. HE’LL BE A GOOD VICE PRESIDENT

The 2018 video clip shows Walz discussing gun control and referring to his own military background. 

“We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at,” Walz said in the clip, which was posted by Harris’ campaign on Tuesday.

Republicans, led by vice presidential candidate JD Vance, have criticized Walz’s military service. Walz served 24 years in the National Guard but never deployed to a war zone. In 2003, he deployed with his unit to Vicenza, Italy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the name for the war in Afghanistan. 

Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that Walz’ campaign is scrambling to “clean up his own mess.” 

“Why won’t Tim Walz address his lies himself? Why does he need to send out lowly spokespeople to clean up his own mess? Walz is a liar and fraud, and Kamala picked a running mate that shares her own vile values,” Cheung said.

Walz retired from the military in 2005, several months before the unit deployed to Iraq. 

Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, has accused Walz of “stolen valor.”

“I wonder Tim Walz, when were you ever in war?” Vance said at an event in Michigan. “What was this weapon you carried into war? What bothers me about Tim Walz is this stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you’re not.”

“I’d be ashamed if I was him and I lied about my military service like he did,” he added. 

A federal grand jury in Miami has charged the co-founder of Smartmatic, a voting machine maker that is separately suing Fox News for defamation, with paying $1 million in bribe payments to officials in the Philippines.

The indictment announced Thursday by the Justice Department said Smartmatic President Roger Piñate and two other employees allegedly made illegal payments to a former Philippines elections commissioner in order to get its voting machines and services used in the country’s 2016 election.

The department said the payments were funded by a slush fund the executives created by inflating the cost of the voting machines. The money was allegedly laundered through bank accounts in Asia, Europe and the U.S.

Piñate, a Venezuelan citizen, Smartmatic executive Jorge Vasquez and former executive Elie Moreno are each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which forbids corporate bribery abroad.

Boca Raton, Fla.-based Smartmatic is currently waging defamation suits against Fox News and its smaller competitor Newsmax. The company said the conservative networks aired false statements about its machines being used to commit voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election, charges that were pushed by former President Trump and his allies.

Smartmatic’s machines were only used in Los Angeles County during the 2020 presidential contest, not in any of the states where Trump said voter fraud was committed.

The firm’s case against Newsmax is scheduled for a Delaware trial in September. The case against Fox News, in which Smartmatic is asking for $2.7 billion in damages, would go to court next year in New York unless it’s settled.

In a statment, Smartmatic said it had placed the two indicted current employees on leaves of absence, effective immediately. The company also noted that the case has nothing to do with voter fraud.

“No voter fraud has been alleged and Smartmatic is not indicted,” the company said. “Voters worldwide must be assured that the elections they participate in are conducted with the utmost integrity and transparency.”

Still, Fox News is likely to cite the Justice Department indictment in defense of its case. Fox News had no comment on the matter. “We look forward to defending our case in court,” a representative said.

President Biden is now hunkering down at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Friday after holding only one public event this week. 

Biden arrived there late Thursday night and remains away from the White House following a tumultuous week around the globe and on Wall Street. He has no events scheduled for today. 

On Friday, the threat of an Iranian counterattack on Israel was still looming large following last week’s killings of top Hezbollah and Hamas officials in Lebanon and Iran. 

Russia also has declared a “federal-level” emergency in its Kursk region bordering Ukraine, according to The Associated Press, where Kyiv has launched one of the largest surprise attacks on Russia since the war began over two years ago. 

BIDEN HOSTS TEXAS RANGERS AT WHITE HOUSE 

Around 1,000 Ukrainian troops are reported to have poured into Russia, where fighting is ongoing. 

Wall Street also has had a shaky week.  

Following a global market sell-off on Monday — which caused the Dow to plunge 2.6%, Nasdaq Composite 3.43% and S&P 500 3% — the jobless claims report out Thursday eased some concerns of a downturn. 

However, one U.S. economist is cautioning that this may be just the beginning of a “reckoning.” 

“There’s a lot of pain ahead of us, both for the economy and this reckoning for the markets that have been really behind the curve, like the Fed,” Macromavens President Stephanie Pomboy said Thursday on FOX Business’ “Mornings with Maria.” 

PELOSI ADMITS BIDEN CAMPAIGN WASN’T ON ‘PATH TO VICTORY’ 

US President Joe Biden speaks as he welcomes the Texas Rangers to celebrate their 2023 World Series championship in the East Room of the White House on Thursday, Aug. 8. It was his only public event of the week. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden held his lone public event of the week on Thursday when he hosted MLB’s reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers at the White House. 

After Biden gave a few remarks about the Rangers’ championship season, manager Bruce Bochy presented him with a customized jersey. Biden then held up the jersey and posed for a photo. Bochy also gave the president a pair of cowboy boots. 

President Joe Biden arrives at Dover Air Force Base on his way to his Rehoboth Beach home on Thursday night. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Moments later, Biden asked, “All right, what am I doing now?” as the guests and players laughed. 

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall and Chantz Martin, and FOX Business’ Kristen Altus contributed to this report.