Oh, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, what a moment. During the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate against Senator JD Vance, R-Ohio, Walz pulled off one of the most head-scratching, facepalm-inducing gaffes of the election season. When pressed about his flip-flop on banning assault weapons, Walz dropped the bombshell, “I’ve become friends with school shooters.” Uh, what?
Unfortunate slip of the tongue from Tim Walz here
“I sat in that office with those Sandy Hook parents; I’ve become friends with school shooters; I’ve seen it.” pic.twitter.com/ThGYv1teFQ
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) October 2, 2024
Now, to be fair, it’s pretty obvious what Walz meant to say—he’s probably gotten close to the parents who lost children in tragic school shootings. But in the unforgiving world of live televised debates, especially in a high-stakes election year, there’s little room for this kind of blunder. And let’s be real: when you’re running for the second-highest office in the land, you’ve got to nail your talking points. Clearly, this wasn’t Walz’s finest hour.
It didn’t take long for the internet to do what it does best—have an absolute field day with the comment. The moment the words left his mouth, the political Twitterverse (or X-verse, these days) went into overdrive. Former President Trump wasted no time diving in, asking the question on everyone’s mind: “Is Walz insane?” Trump War Room was quick to spread the video far and wide, as if it were a gift from the political gods. And Trump national press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t hold back either, slamming Walz as “not ready for primetime.” Ouch.
And then the Trump released this:
Donald Trump Releases An Epic Troll After Walz States He Is Friends With School Shooters At The Debate
Walz: “I am friends with school shooters”
Trump: “Trump Vance 24, Not friends with school shooters”
😂😂😂😂
The debate with Vance went about as poorly as it could
For Walz pic.twitter.com/gN9bCQJpvf— Cash Loren (@CashLorenShow) October 2, 2024
Even Fox News contributor Guy Benson, while acknowledging the blunder, didn’t miss the opportunity to point out that this isn’t the first time Walz has fumbled the ball. From stretching the truth about his military service to his DUI and odd stories about Tiananmen Square, there’s a pattern here, folks. These “misstatements” start to pile up, and it gets harder and harder to excuse them as innocent slip-ups.
And yet, there were still those willing to play defense for Walz. Pundit John Podhoretz and Fox’s Andy McCarthy were quick to downplay the whole thing, with McCarthy shrugging it off as an innocent mistake in what he considered a “good, high-minded debate.” Sure, Andy. But when you’re in the same debate as someone like JD Vance, who’s known for hammering down on the law-and-order platform and speaking clearly on gun rights, you can’t afford to trip over your words—especially not when you’re talking about something as sensitive as school shootings.
However, not everyone is so forgiving. Journalist Andy Ngo labeled it the “gaffe of the 2024 election,” which, given how things have been going, says a lot. Conservative influencer Robby Starbuck echoed the sentiment, sarcastically asking if Walz cared to explain his statement. It’s hard to imagine this gaffe will disappear anytime soon.
Even when he was questioned about his comment, it didn’t go so well.
“Can you clarify what you meant when you said you befriended school shooters?”
“Why did you say you were in Hong Kong when reports say you weren’t?” pic.twitter.com/knikwd3qob
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) October 2, 2024
And whatever this was…
#WATCH | This is how Tim Walz responded when asked about his comment about being friends with shooters at school 👇 pic.twitter.com/ScWQ1ThZJN
— VOZ (@Voz_US) October 2, 2024
So, what does this all mean? Well, for starters, it’s a reminder that words matter, especially in politics. As Walz struggles to defend his shifting stance on gun control, moments like this give his critics all the ammunition they need (pun very much intended). And let’s be clear: in this political climate, where every word is dissected and magnified, such a mistake can stick like glue.
For the GOP, this is an easy win. When you’ve got a Democrat tripping over his own talking points on live television, it’s like Christmas morning for Republicans. The gaffe feeds right into the narrative that the left is disorganized, out of touch, and, frankly, not up to the task of leading the nation. Whether Walz can recover from this blunder remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure—he just handed the opposition a soundbite that’ll haunt him for the rest of this campaign.
