Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) appeared to have a major gaffe during Tuesday night’s debate on CBS News, saying that he had “become friends with school shooters” while discussing the issue of gun violence.
During the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate, Walz was asked why he supports a ban on “assault weapons” when he previously indicated he was opposed to such a ban. In response, Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 running mate said, “I sat in that office with the Sandy Hook parents, I’ve become friends with school shooters.”
After accidentally claiming to have “become friends with school shooters,” Walz said he was an “NRA guy for a long time.” The Democratic governor and 2024 vice presidential candidate said he was “of an age” where he kept his shotgun in his car so he could “go pheasant hunting after football practice.”
Following Walz’s gaffe during the debate, Trump released a post on Truth Social, saying, “Did Tampon Tim just say he has ‘become friends with school shooters?’ He isn’t even qualified to be Governor, let alone Vice President. Walz and Kamala DO NOT HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!”
READ MORE: Video: Harris’ VP Tim Walz blames stolen valor on bad grammar
“Walz made a very big mistake on Gun Shooters,” Trump said in another post. “Does anyone think he knows what he said?” Trump also asked whether the Minnesota governor would host a news conference after Tuesday night’s debate to “apologize” to the parents of school shooting victims and other Americans who were “so horribly hurt” by his comment.
After the debate, Trump questioned why the media was not addressing Walz’s comment that he was “friends with school shooters.” The former president also shared an image of a campaign sign that read, “Trump Vance ’24,” along with the caption “Not friends with school shooters.”
Walz’s debate performance was quickly met with widespread criticism on social media. Andrew Pollack, the father of a school shooting victim, tweeted, “My daughter was killed in the Parkland school shooting. It’s absolutely abhorrent that Tim Walz has befriended school shooters. Disqualifying.”
Meanwhile, conservative commentator Jack Posobiec suggested that Walz’s comment about school shooters would be the “#1 thing remembered” about Tuesday night’s debate. In reference to a memorable line in the recent presidential debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump, Posobiec added that Walz’s gaffe was the “eating the cats” moment of the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate.
