At VP Debate, Tim Walz Says He's Become 'Friends With School Shooters', Trump Reacts

In the only vice presidential debate before November's elections, Democratic candidate Tim Walz made a controversial remark, claiming he had become "friends with school shooters." In answer to a query on school shootings, he made a remark that caused former President Donald Trump to react.Donald Trump, the former president, responded to the remark right away on his social media network, Truth Social. “Second time he has said, 'I’ve been friends with school shooters.' What does he mean by this? Is he insane?” Trump wrote, amplifying the debate around Walz’s comments.

The comment was made by Minnesota Governor Walz, who was discussing his changing position on outlawing assault rifles. “I sat in that office with those Sandy Hook parents. I became friends with school shooters. I’ve seen it,” he said. The moderators had questioned him about how, during his political career, his views on gun control had changed.Walz also shared his personal gun experience, saying that after football practice he would go pheasant hunting with a rifle in the back of his car. But in order to address the rise in school shootings, the main thrust of his argument was the necessity of gun control laws. Walz recommended that the United States learn from Finland, a nation with a high gun ownership rate and a low rate of gun violence.“They don’t have this happen,” Walz said, referring to Finland’s approach. He supported federal government involvement in limiting access to some firearms, although he did not state which weapons should be prohibited. In the discussion, Walz's opponent, Republican candidate JD Vance, accepted the allusion to Finland but emphasized other problems that are fueling the gun violence pandemic in the United States. Vance drew attention to the higher than average rates of anxiety and despair in the United States, implying that the nation's high rates of gun-related violence are mostly caused by a mental health crisis.