Walz clarifies ‘friends with school shooters’ gaffe

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) on Wednesday sought to clarify a comment from the vice presidential debate in which he said he’s “become friends with school shooters,” telling reporters he was speaking about people impacted by school shootings.

“I was talking about meeting people where there are school shooters, and I need to be more specific on that,” Walz told an NBC News reporter during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania. “But I am passionate about this. This one, for my wife and I, is just, as teachers, as parents, is so personal.”

Walz noted that he met as a member of Congress with parents of children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, and he said he’s good friends with David Hogg, who survived the deadly 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

Some conservatives jumped on Walz’s gaffe during the debate to mock the governor, and a clip of the moment was widely circulated on social media.

The governor was asked during Tuesday night’s debate with Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) about his change in position on gun restrictions. 

While he opened by saying he was “friends with school shooters,” his full answer explained how he used to keep a shotgun in his car so he could go hunting after coaching football practice, but the experience of meeting with school shooting victims helped change his views.

“Sometimes it just is the guns. It’s just the guns,” Walz said. “And there are things that you can do about it. But I do think that this is one, and I think this is a healthy conversation. I think there’s a capacity to find solutions on this that work, protect Second Amendment, protect our children. That’s our priority.”