Gov. Tim Walz speaks during the vice presidential debate against Sen. J.D. Vance in New York City on Tuesday. (Angela Weiss – AFP / Getty Images)
By Samantha Chang October 2, 2024 at 7:37am
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was savaged on social media for committing a gaffe so devastating that it’s sure to go down in the annals of vice presidential debate history.
The brouhaha erupted Tuesday during Walz‘s abysmal debate performance in New York against Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
After the self-proclaimed hunter was asked why he changed his stance on gun control, Walz said, “I sat in that office with those Sandy Hook parents. I’ve become friends with school shooters.”
The doddering Democrat ostensibly meant that he became friendly with the parents of children who were victimized in school shootings, but the damage was done.
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
Countless viewers roasted Vice President Kamala Harris‘ blundering running mate.
“He didn’t even get fact-checked,” billionaire X owner Elon Musk joked.
He didn’t even get fact-checked lmao
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 2, 2024
Did J.D. Vance win the debate?
“That was perhaps the greatest presidential or vice presidential debate flop in living memory,” Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah told Tucker Carlson.
Here is the Tucker Carlson clip where he’s discussing Tim Walz saying he is “friends with school shooters”
It’s so insane that this is what the Democrat Party has become. pic.twitter.com/HMTGqpQtAq
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) October 2, 2024
“Yikes! Not ready for primetime,” remarked Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary for the Trump campaign.
Did Tim Walz just say…
“I’ve become friends with school shooters”
Yikes! Not ready for primetime. 😬
— Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) October 2, 2024
I’ll be there for you…. pic.twitter.com/Ujyq13I8Kt
— The Investigative Examiners (@TruthorConseq12) October 2, 2024
I’ve become friends with school shooters.
– Tim Walz pic.twitter.com/nJz3vXzOr0
— Roughsparks (@roughsparks) October 2, 2024
Public safety activist Andrew Pollack, whose daughter was murdered in the 2018 shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, slammed Walz’s remark as “disqualifying.”
“My daughter was killed in the Parkland school shooting. It’s absolutely abhorrent that Tim Walz has befriended school shooters,” Pollack wrote on X.
My daughter was killed in the Parkland school shooting. It’s absolutely abhorrent that Tim Walz has befriended school shooters. Disqualifying. https://t.co/Q0tkhmHFAi
— Andrew Pollack (@AndrewPollackFL) October 2, 2024
Even if you exclude his self-immolating soundbite, Walz struggled throughout the debate. He was optically and verbally insipid and weak.
While most Americans don’t decide their votes based on vice presidential debates, it’s clear that Walz’s atrocious performance did not win over any new voters.
With the political theater of the VP debate out of the way, it’s time for Americans to focus on the real issues, which is to secure our besieged borders and restore our flailing economy.
The only option is to re-elect former President Donald Trump and send him back to the White House.
Samantha Chang is a political commentator, lawyer and financial editor in NYC.
Samantha Chang is a politics writer, lawyer and financial editor based in NYC.
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