Walz stuns internet with VP debate gaffe: ‘I’ve become friends with school shooters’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz baffled the internet on Tuesday when he accidentally declared he has "become friends with school shooters" during the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate against Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio.

The poorly timed mishap occurred when Walz was asked about changing positions on banning assault weapons, which he previously opposed but now supports. "I sat in that office with those Sandy Hook parents. I’ve become friends with school shooters. I’ve seen it," Walz said.
While Walz presumably meant he has become friendly with parents who lost children during horrific school shootings, the internet was sent into a tizzy.

"Walz saying he’s become friends with school shooters, when he meant victims, is an innocent misstatement. Repeatedly lying about his military rank, his DUI, IVF and Hong Kong/Tiananmen Square are not innocent misstatements," Fox News contributor Guy Benson responded.

The Media Research Center called it an "unfortunate slip of the tongue."