During the first and only vice presidential debate of this election cycle Tuesday evening, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz acknowledged he "misspoke" about being in China during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

Walz has repeatedly asserted that he was in China for the protests during his year-long stint as a high school teacher in the southeastern Chinese town of Foshan.

As recently as in February, Walz stated during an episode of the podcast "Pod Save America" that he was in Hong Kong during the protests. "I was in Hong Kong when it happened – I was in Hong Kong on June 4th when Tiananmen happened … Quite a few of our folks decided not to go in," he said.

It appears Walz did not actually travel to the region until August 1989, according to local newspaper clippings obtained by
. The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which led to a deadly government crackdown by the Chinese government, lasted from April 15 to June 4 that year -- ending about two months ahead of Walz's travel to the country.

When confronted to clarify news reports that disprove such claims, Walz said that he "misspoke" in his earlier statements but then reaffirmed that he "was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protest."

While avoiding the question of whether he was being truthful about the timeline of his travel, Walz defended his character by admitting he has made mistakes, has "not been perfect" and is a "knucklehead at times."

This is yet another instance of Walz seemingly misrepresenting his past.

The Democratic vice presidential nominee has previously faced criticism for his military record, with critics questioning the way he has presented his experience and pointing out instances where he has failed to correct inaccuracies.

In addition to Walz repeatedly stating that he retired with a rank he attained but did not actually retire with, the Harris-Walz campaign acknowledged he misspoke when stating in 2018 that he carried weapons of war "in war."