Shortly after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was named the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, the Harris campaign released a video in which Walz said that he carried “weapons of war in war.”   

That was a mistake that Walz quickly corrected -- although not before Republican VP candidate and designated attack dog J.D. Vance jumped all over Walz’s military record, accusing him of not only of misappropriating “valor,” but also shirking his duty for retiring a few months before his National Guard unit received an order to prepare for deployment to Iraq.   

By most accounts, Walz’s 24-year National Guard service was distinguished, so why would the Republicans jump all over Walz when Vance’s running mate Donald Trump offers a much bigger target, for not just lack of service but also mocking those who have served?  

Who knows, but the Lincoln Project leaped at the opening to create an ad that calls Trump a “draft dodger,” “a coward,” and “the spoiled rich kid who faked bone spurs” to avoid military service during the Vietnam war.  

The ad features a clip from an interview with Howard Stern, where Trump discusses “my Vietnam,” which largely consisted of cruising New York City for sex while trying to avoid catching sexually transmitted diseases. “You’ve said that many times,” notes Stern -- that that is how Trump has described his “war” experience, with Trump likening his debauched NYC lifestyle to being a “great and very brave soldier.”   

The ad also reminds viewers of Trump’s disrespect for the late Arizona Senator John McCain — who was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for six years and whom Trump described as being a “war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, okay.”