Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt has called on Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) to explain a comment he made about becoming “friends with school shooters,” a statement she considered “incredibly odd.”
Walz made the remark during Tuesday’s vice presidential debate against Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) when providing an answer on gun violence within the nation. The Minnesota governor’s comment on becoming friends with school shooters has been highlighted by many on social media, with Leavitt wondering if Walz misspoke.
“I have yet to hear him correct the record on that,” Leavitt said on Newsmax’s The National Report. “He should because if he is truly friends with school shooters, I think that disqualifies him from being vice president of the United States. But his whole answer on that issue, the Second Amendment, was terrible. You heard him at the end there saying, ‘Sometimes it’s just the guns.’ I’m sorry, what? People have to pull the trigger of the gun.”
Leavitt added that the problem of gun violence stems from the mental health of shooters instead of the guns they use and that Vance “effectively prosecuted the case” on this matter.
As of Wednesday morning, Walz has not clarified his comment on becoming friends with school shooters. However, he has reiterated his comment on firearms, writing, “Sometimes, it’s just the guns” on X.
Sometimes, it’s just the guns.
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) October 2, 2024
Leavitt was also asked about the “civility” of both candidates in the debate. The press secretary argued that Vance’s performance stems from him being “a great person.” She also joked that Walz would be voting for the Trump-Vance ticket, citing how Walz nodded in agreement with Vance “five separate times on different issues and points.”
“Again, I think it shows Gov. Walz was not prepared for prime time,” Leavitt said. “He has dodged the media, much like Kamala Harris. Both of them have refused to do interviews, and it showed.”
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In the wake of Tuesday’s debate, many Republicans have praised Vance’s performance, with former President Donald Trump stating his running mate “crushed” the debate. Trump also deemed Walz “a Low IQ Disaster – very much like Kamala.”
Vance, in his first post-debate interview, jokingly suggested that Walz was given “a very tough job” defending Vice President Kamala Harris’s record in the White House, to which “there’s no defending.”
