Massachusetts Governor Healey comes up short when asked to defend one of Harris' bigger falsehoods

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) appears to be auditioning for a job in a possible Harris administration. Things aren't going too well.

In a Sunday interview on ABC News, Healey was asked to explain one of the various falsehoods that the network initially let Kamala Harris get away with in last week's presidential debate. It quickly became clear that while Healey was heavy on rhetoric, she was short on answers.

During the debate, Harris dodged the question of whether she bore any responsibility for the botched Afghanistan withdrawal during which 13 American service members were slain and many more were left behind.

Before attempting to shift blame onto President Donald, Harris said:

I agreed with President Biden's decision to pull out of Afghanistan. Four presidents said they would, and Joe Biden did. And as a result, America's taxpayers are not paying the $300 million a day we were paying for that endless war. And as of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world, the first time this century.

Martha Raddatz, co-anchor of "This Week," asked Healey about Harris' remarks, particularly her suggestion that there are no active-duty service members in a combat zone anywhere around the world.

"Our fact-checkers found that to be false," said Raddatz. "And I have a lot of experience in that area."

Raddatz was likely referring to her time reporting from Iraq as a national security correspondent and her extensive sources inside the Pentagon.

"There are currently 900 U.S. military personnel in Syria, 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq. All have been under regular threat from drones and missiles for months," said Raddatz. "We also have action in the Red Sea. We also — every single day the Navy SEALs, Delta Forces, special operators can be part of any sort of deadly raid."

'Did she not know about these people in Syria and in Iraq?'

"So why would she make that claim?" asked Raddatz, undoubtedly aware that Harris' remarks came just days after seven American troops were wounded in a deadly raid in Western Iraq.

Healey desperately tried to evade the question, saying, "What I think what's important here, Martha, is that Kamala Harris, in contrast to Donald Trump, demonstrated herself to be commander in chief."

"We are in a world where there are all sorts of conflicts," Healey continued, apparently referring to the Russia-Ukraine war and the latest Hamas-Israel war that kicked off while Harris was vice president. "It's all the more reason we need somebody who's serious and who supports the military."

Raddatz prevented Healey from retreating to the comfort of well-worn talking points, saying, "Governor, excuse me, but she said, 'There is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone.' That is not true."

"You say she demonstrated her ability to be commander in chief, but did she not know about these people in Syria and in Iraq? Why would she say that?" added Raddatz.

Healey tried passing off the falsehood as a "comment in a debate" and an attempt to make a "broader point," which the Massachusetts governor proved unwilling to share or unable to make up.

'She doesn't even recognize that our own troops are getting hurt.'

Growing visibly flustered, the governor desperately returned to well-worn albeit debunked talking points. Extra to claiming that "Donald Trump stands with Vladimir Putin," Healey repeated the baseless "suckers and losers" smear first advanced by the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg.

Healey continued her verbal flailing until Raddatz abandoned the effort.

Service members currently in war zones and veterans' families have criticized Harris over her false claim.

Brad Illerbrunner, whose son, Chief Warrant Officer Garrent Illerbrunner of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division, was critically injured on Christmas Day, told the New York Post that Harris' lie "really [hit] below the belt. ... She doesn't even recognize that our own troops are getting hurt."

"We're still in war zones," said Illerbrunner, adding that the vice president was "trying to snow the public."

"If you're in Jordan in the middle of nowhere to fight ISIS, and you're getting attacked by Iranian drones and rockets on a daily basis, you're in a war zone," added Illerbrunner.

Three American soldiers were killed in Jordan by an Iranian proxy in January.

Footage has also appeared online of service members reacting to Harris' remarks while stationed abroad.

The Biden-Harris Pentagon has attempted to give Harris cover, noting in a statement obtained by the Wall Street Journal that "just because a service member is in one of these locations does not mean they are engaged in war. The U.S. is not currently engaged in a war and does not have troops fighting in active war zones anywhere in the world."

This, however, is a deception.

Although Congress hasn't declared a war since 1942, hundreds of thousands of U.S. service members have been killed in war zones in the years since. The technical wording appealed to here by the Pentagon and Harris would mean those who perished in Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea, and Vietnam don't count.

Mark Montgomery, a retired rear admiral, recently told Fox News Digital that despite the government quietly shutting down designations of war zones, one need only "ask: 'Is anyone getting combat-related hazardous duty pay?'"

"The answer is yes," added Montgomery.

Robert Greenway, a U.S. Special Forces combat veteran and former senior director for the National Security Council, said that the comment "is especially egregious, as she is the current VP and should know that we recently conducted a raid in Syria, killing a senior ISIS commander. Several U.S. troops had to be medically evacuated after another raid against ISIS in Syria."

"Several service members were wounded in Iraq when Al Asad Airbase was attacked by Iranian-sponsored terrorists less than a month ago, and our ships are under near-daily attack in the Red Sea," he told Fox News Digital.

Harris did not limit herself to falsehoods about the military during the debate.

The Democratic candidate also repeated the "fine people" hoax; claimed that Trump would be implementing the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025; claimed that Trump would ratify a national abortion ban; recycled the "bloodbath" smear; and claimed law enforcement officers died on Jan. 6, 2021, in reference to the Capitol riot.

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