Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) signed on to a letter from the Trump campaign criticizing Kamala Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) for misrepresenting his military rank, but Jackson did the same thing in the letter.
Jackson is among the more than 50 veterans who signed the letter taking issue with Walz’s military rank after the governor referred to himself as a retired command sergeant major.
Walz did achieve the rank of command sergeant major in the Army National Guard but it was reduced to master sergeant after his retirement since he had not completed coursework for the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.
In the letter, Jackson did the same thing he is condemning Walz for.
According to the Washington Post, Jackson identified himself in the letter as “Ronny Jackson, U.S. Representative (TX-13); Rear Admiral – U.S. Navy (Ret.),” but he no longer holds that rank.
Jackson was demoted to the rank of captain from ‘rear admiral’ in July 2022 after a Pentagon inspector general’s report substantiated allegations of “inappropriate conduct” and bullying of staff.
The Department of Defense inspector general found that during his time as White House physician, Jackson berated subordinates, made “sexual and denigrating” comments about a female subordinate, violated the policy for drinking alcohol while on a presidential trip and took prescription-strength sleeping medication that raised concerns about his ability to provide proper care to the president.
Jackson’s conduct is “not in keeping with the standards the Navy requires of its leaders and, as such, the Secretary of the Navy took administrative action in July 2022,” the Navy spokesperson said at the time.
Jackson was first elected to Congress in 2020 after he became infamous for praising Donald Trump’s “excellent” health in 2018 and said the then-president—despite his diet of fast food— could live to be 200-years-old because of his “good genes.”
