Walz can’t seem to help himself. He’s been a major thorn in the side of Kamala Harris’s campaign.
And Tim Walz is hiding in embarrassment after this damaging video leaked.
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz attempted to highlight his much-touted shooting skills at a hunting event on Saturday, but his performance didn’t quite live up to expectations, leading to a swift backlash.
Walz participated in the annual Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. Wearing an orange vest and chaps, he tramped through the tall grass for hours but didn’t manage to bring down any birds.
Videos posted on social media captured Walz fumbling with his Beretta A400 semiautomatic shotgun, at one point commenting that it “never fits quite right,” while noting its design to reduce shoulder impact.
Tim Walz’s pheasant hunt photo op isn’t going so well
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 12, 2024
Critics were quick to seize on the footage, with some saying his apparent struggle undermined his previous boasts about his hunting prowess.
Since becoming the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Walz has frequently highlighted his shooting skills, even taunting GOP vice-presidential candidate JD Vance, saying, “I guarantee you he can’t shoot pheasants like I can.”
Walz, who has a history of talking up his abilities as a skilled marksman during his time in Congress, was hoping to capitalize on this event as part of the Harris-Walz campaign’s broader effort to appeal to rural and gun-owning voters.
Both Walz and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris have emphasized their own gun ownership while attempting to deflect Republican attacks on their gun control policies.
Harris has openly discussed owning a Glock, which she says she has used at the range, and the campaign recently launched the “Hunters and Anglers for Harris-Walz” coalition. They’ve even started selling camouflage hats as part of their outreach to rural voters.
However, the hunting trip didn’t go unnoticed by political opponents. Supporters of former President Donald Trump took to social media to mock Walz for what they saw as a failed attempt to connect with gun enthusiasts. “Glock-enthusiast Kamala Harris needs to teach Tim Walz how to load a gun,” quipped user Kate Hyde on X. Conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong didn’t hold back either, saying, “Incredible. Tim Walz has never used a gun before in his life. So much for being a military bada**. Just another lie in a long string of lies.”
The Trump campaign also jumped into the fray. Trump War Room shared a clip from MSNBC covering the hunting excursion with the caption, “MSNBC implies that Tim Walz going pheasant hunting is nothing more than a desperate attempt to make up ground with male voters. Sorry Tim, men aren’t voting for a gun grabber.”
Other Trump advisers joined in, with Tim Murtaugh joking, “The report from The Great Pheasant Hunt of 2024 is that, if Walz fired his gun at all, he didn’t hit anything.” Chris LaCivita, co-manager of the Trump campaign, added his thoughts, saying, “My prediction was in fact accurate… staged… and watching him bumbling around trying to load his shotgun was fun.”
Despite the event not going as planned, with just one pheasant shot and none recovered according to CBS News, Walz posted a video afterward with a happy hunting dog. “Hard to tell who was more excited for the pheasant opener today — me or the pup!” he wrote on X.
Political observers have noted that the Harris-Walz campaign has been relying on Walz to help bridge a gap with male voters as polls indicate a significant gender divide ahead of the November 5th election.
Walz, who once received a high rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA) during his time in Congress, has since shifted his stance on guns.
As governor of Minnesota, he’s signed gun-control measures, including expanded background checks and a “red flag” law that allows courts to remove guns from individuals deemed a potential threat.
Walz has also faced criticism for a previous statement on gun control, where he remarked, “We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war.” Critics have pointed out that Walz never served in a combat zone, further fueling skepticism about his authenticity among some voters.
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