Minnesota Governor Tim Walz looked extremely uncomfortable during his appearance at the vice-presidential debate against Ohio Senator JD Vance. People watching the debate say he was “hard to watch” as he took the stage against his Republican opponent.
Walz made a few gaffes and fumbled at the beginning of the debate, confusing Israel with Iran. At one point, he claimed to be “friends with school shooters”.
When CBS News moderator Margaret Brennan asked Walz whether he would support or oppose a pre-emptive strike by Israel on Iran to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear weapon, the Democrat didn’t give a clear answer.
“Iran — er — Israel’s ability to defend itself is absolutely fundamental,” Walz said, as people gasped.
He then used terminology associated with Iran to refer to Israel. “The expansion of Israel and its proxies is an absolute fundamental necessity for the United States,” Walz said, without clarifying who he meant when using the word “proxies”.
Notably, Iran-backed terror groups Hezbollah and Hamas are the ones referred to as proxies of Tehran.
The mix-up invited criticism from the Republican Jewish Coalition, who slammed Walz, calling him “weak, incompetent, dangerously radical”.
“‘Israel and its proxies’ – what the hell is Tim Walz talking about?” the group wrote on X.
People on social media also mocked Walz’s performance at the debate, calling him “uncomfortable”, “fast-talking” and “hard to watch”.
‘Friends with school shooters’
Meanwhile, responding to a question on school shootings, Wala said he had become “friends” with the shooters.
When asked how he had changed his mind about banning “assault weapons” over his career, Walz said, “I sat in that office with those Sandy Hook parents. I’ve become friends with school shooters. I’ve seen it.”
Political pollster and consultant Frank Luntz said, “‘I’ve become friends with school shooters’ may be the worst line in any 2024 debate.”
Former president Donald Trump also used to moment to pan Walz, posting a Trump-Vance 2024 sign on his Truth Social with the slogan “Not friends with school shooters” underneath.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump in the presidential election, has pledged to “ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require universal background checks, and support red flag laws that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people,” according to their campaign website.
