"Did he really say that?" — Internet reacts to Tim Walz saying he has become "friends with school shooters" during VP debate

On Tuesday, October 1, 2024, Tim Walz faced JD Vance in the VP debate for the upcoming Presidential elections scheduled to be held next month. What caught massive attention from netizens as well as former President Donald Trump, was a statement given by Walz during the debate.

The gaffe reportedly happened when Tim Walz was talking about school shootings. He was asked why he decided to change his mind about banning "assault weapons." This was when Walz said:

"I sat in that office with those Sandy Hook parents. I became friends with school shooters. I've seen it."

Meanwhile, netizens flooded social media platforms after this remark made by Walz. Here are some of the responses found on X, formerly known as Twitter:

"That just happened… What TF does that even mean?!" another person said.

"Not cool, Tim. How can you claim to be for gun safety when you befriend school shooters?" another X user said.

"Seriously what a moron! Where do the dems find these people!" one netizen said.

While several netizens bashed Walz for the gaffe, many came in support and claimed that it was possibly just a mistake.

"How dare he be human. There are plenty of highlight reels of Trump's gaffes..." one person said.

"That he did, he meant victims, but he stumbled and said shooters," explained another user.

"Tim Walz's statement likely aims to emphasize the importance of understanding the motivations and backgrounds of individuals involved in school shootings..." another person said.

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Tim Walz mentioned that his son Gus Walz had witnessed a school shooting during the debate

Tim Walz's comment mentioning school shooters has further put him under major scrutiny on social media. Meanwhile, somewhere else during the debate, Walz spoke about his son Gus. According to him, Gus, who is 17 years old, witnessed a school shooting. He said:

"I've got a 17-year-old and he witnessed a shooting at a community center playing volleyball."

This made JD Vance express his empathy as well and described the situation as "awful." He said:

"Tim, first of all, I didn't know that your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting, and I'm sorry about that and I hope he's doing OK. Christ have mercy, it is awful."

Both Vance and Walz condemned school shootings, however, their approaches to dealing with the problem were not similar. While Vance focused on physical security measures, Walz was more into gun control legislation.

As for Walz's remarks, Donald Trump shared a series of posts on Truth Social, bashing the Minnesota Governor. Questioning whether Walz was insane, in a post, Trump wrote:

"He isn’t even qualified to be Governor, let alone Vice President. Walz and Kamala DO NOT HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!"

Not just netizens, but several other significant supporters of the Republican Party like Karoline Leavitt, Frank Luntz, Andy Ngo, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna have ended up bashing Walz for the questionable remark during the debate.