Awkward gaffe: Walz says 'I've become friends with school shooters'

Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., had an awkward gaffe during the vice presidential debate on Tuesday where he said that he has "become friends with school shooters."

While discussing gun policy, Walz said that he changed his stance on opposing an assault weapons ban after meeting with parents of Sandy Hook shooting victims.

"I've become friends with school shooters," he continued.

"I was an NRA guy for a long time," Walz added. "They used to teach gun safety. I'm of an age where my shotgun was in my car so I could pheasant hunt after football practice. That's not where we live today."

He explained that in Minnesota, the most firearm deaths "are rural suicides, and we have an epidemic of children getting guns and shooting themselves. And 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 stigmatizing mental health. Just because you have a mental health issue doesn't mean you're violent. And I think what we end up doing is we start looking for a scapegoat.

"Sometimes it just is the guns," Walz continued. "It'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's a capacity to find solutions on this that work. Protect the Second Amendment, protect our children. That's our priority."

Former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social in response to the gaffe. The GOP presidential nominee shared a digital campaign Trump-Vance 2024 sign that reads, "NOT FRIENDS WITH SCHOOL SHOOTERS."