{"id":2348432,"date":"2024-10-02T00:55:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T04:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tim-walz-commits-one-of-the-biggest-debate-blunders-in-recent-memory-says-ive-become-friends-with-school-shooters\/"},"modified":"2024-10-02T00:57:08","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T04:57:08","slug":"tim-walz-commits-one-of-the-biggest-debate-blunders-in-recent-memory-says-ive-become-friends-with-school-shooters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tim-walz-commits-one-of-the-biggest-debate-blunders-in-recent-memory-says-ive-become-friends-with-school-shooters\/","title":{"rendered":"Tim Walz Commits One of the Biggest Debate Blunders in Recent Memory, Says &#8216;I\u2019ve Become Friends with School Shooters&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftim-walz-commits-one-of-the-biggest-debate-blunders-in-recent-memory-says-ive-become-friends-with-school-shooters%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2348432&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>During a recent debate, \u200bMinnesota Governor and \u200bDemocratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz made a significant gaffe while discussing\u2064 school shootings. In his \u200cremarks,\u2063 he mistakenly stated, \u201cI\u2019ve become friends with school shooters,\u201d which quickly drew widespread attention and criticism on social media. This comment followed\u2064 his expression of\u2063 changed views on \u2064gun control after meeting with victims\u2019 families \u200bfrom the\u200d Sandy Hook tragedy. <\/p>\n<p>Walz&#8217;s intent appeared to be\u200c emphasizing his relationships with those affected by gun violence, not with shooters\u2062 themselves. He acknowledged his past as a supporter of the \u200bNRA \u2062and pointed out that many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-the-1994-assault-weapons-ban-didnt-work\/\" title=\"Why The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban Didn\u2019t Work\">firearm-related deaths<\/a> in Minnesota \u200dstem \u2062from rural suicides and accidental \u200dshootings among children. He argued for\u2062 a nuanced approach to the issue, including addressing mental health and \u200chealthcare availability without stigmatizing those with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rnc-chair-condemns-biden-abortion-policy\/\" title=\"RNC chair condemns Biden abortion policy\">mental health problems<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Despite the calamity of his wording,\u2063 Walz reiterated that gun violence is a multifaceted problem that\u200b requires serious \u200dconversation and \u200dsolutions that protect both \u200cthe Second Amendment and children. In addition to this controversy, Walz also admitted\u2062 to fabricating a claim about his presence in \u200bChina during the Tiananmen Square protests, declaring\u2062 himself \u201ca \u2062knucklehead at times.\u201d  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> <script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had every candidate&rsquo;s nightmare come true on a debate stage on Tuesday night, and in perhaps the most macabre way possible: He committed a bad gaffe that everyone will remember &mdash; and on school shootings, no less.<\/p>\n<p>During the midst of a question about mass shootings and why Walz flip-flopped on a ban regarding so-called &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/karine-jean-pierre-gets-totally-schooled-claim-assault-weapons-literally-never-happened\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">assault weapons<\/a>,&rdquo; the governor told America, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve become friends with school shooters&rdquo; &mdash; a sound bite that immediately set social media ablaze.<\/p>\n<p>Walz made the remarks after saying he changed his position after meeting with parents of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve become friends with school shooters,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I was an NRA guy for a long time,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-jd-vance-leaves-tim-walz-alone-awkward-moment-debate-even-starts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Walz<\/a> added. &ldquo;They used to teach gun safety. I&rsquo;m of an age where my shotgun was in my car, so I could pheasant hunt after football practice. That&rsquo;s not where we live today.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>He went on to say that most of Minnesota&rsquo;s firearm deaths &ldquo;are rural suicides, and we have an epidemic of children getting guns and shooting themselves. And &hellip; we should look at all of the issues, making sure folks have healthcare and all that. But I want to be very careful, this idea of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ama-begs-for-federal-action-on-insidious-crisis-of-physician-burnout\/\" title=\"AMA pleads for federal intervention in &#039;insidious crisis&#039; of doctor burnout.\">stigmatizing mental health<\/a>, just because you have a mental health issue doesn&rsquo;t mean you&rsquo;re violent. And I think what we end up doing is, we start looking for a scapegoat.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve become friends with school shooters&rdquo; &ndash; Tim Walz <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dsnkhKjBxE\">pic.twitter.com\/dsnkhKjBxE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Breaking911 (@Breaking911) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Breaking911\/status\/1841299301361730028?\">October 2, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Sometimes it just is the guns,&rdquo; Walz added.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just the guns. And there are things that you can do about it, but I do think that this is a healthy conversation. I think there&rsquo;s a capacity to find solutions on this that work. Protect the Second Amendment, protect our children. That&rsquo;s our priority.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While it&rsquo;s clear from context that Walz likely meant to say that he had become friends with those who had lost loved ones in school shootings, it wasn&rsquo;t the only problematic moment during the debate.<\/p>\n<p>When confronted with just one of his problematic claims on the campaign trail &mdash; a statement that he was in China when the Tiananmen Square protests happened &mdash; Walz admitted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-tim-walz-scrambles-visibly-shaken-moderator-presses-china-controversy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">it was an untrue claim<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a knucklehead at times,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> <label>* Name<\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> <\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> <label>* <\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> <\/div>\n<p> <label>* Message<\/label> <br \/> <textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea>  <\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> <input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\">  <\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\">   <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\">   <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz faced a major blunder during a debate on Tuesday night, making a memorable gaffe related to school shootings. While discussing mass shootings and his change of stance on banning &#8220;assault weapons,&#8221; he stated, &#8220;I\u2019ve become friends with school shooters,&#8221; which quickly went viral on social media. This comment followed his explanation of how meeting with Sandy Hook victims&#8217; families influenced his views. He also mentioned that most firearm deaths in Minnesota are rural suicides and emphasized the need for comprehensive solutions that include mental health care without stigmatizing those with mental health issues. Walz acknowledged that sometimes the issue is simply about guns and expressed hope for finding effective solutions while protecting both the Second Amendment and children\u2019s safety. Despite the context suggesting he meant to refer to friendships with victims&#8217; families, this was not his only misstep; he also admitted to falsely claiming he was in China during the Tiananmen Square protests, calling himself &#8220;a knucklehead at times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2348433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Gov-Tim-Walz.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[42140,32171,41040,36113],"class_list":["post-2348432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-debate-blunder","tag-political-commentary","tag-school-shootings","tag-tim-walz"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Gov-Tim-Walz.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2348432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2348433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2348432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2348432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2348432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}