October 13, 2024
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz received social media abuse when a video surfaced of him struggling to load a shotgun on the first day of pheasant season in Minnesota. The video quickly circulated across media, making mockery of political pundits, country music artists and right-wingers.
Country singer John Rich didn’t mince words in his reaction to the footage, tweeting, “Tim Walz claimed he carried ‘weapons of war in combat’ but he can’t load a shotgun? This guy is beyond weak. My little sister could beat him up. Ya gotta watch this.”
The footage was taken at a ceremony Walz had arranged for the press to record, marking the beginning of the state’s hunting season. Rather than showcase his expertise in the line, Walz’s struggle with the shotgun took centre-stage.
The conservative pundit Buck Sexton poked fun at Walz comparing his crisis to Vice President Kamala Harris’ press conferences: Tim Walz looks as comfortable loading a shotgun as Kamala does answering basic questions.
The video also reignited a longstanding accusation against Walz related to “Stolen Valor.” Jason Robertson, a conservative commentator, added sarcastically, “After Watching Tim Walz trying to handle a shotgun, I officially retract any criticism from him avoiding combat zones. He is a HERO. He is so bad with a weapon that he saved American Lives skipping the War Zone.”
The writer James Hirsen noted that Walz’s style of handling the weapon was out-of-character, saying “Tim Walz looks like someone who has never loaded a shotgun.”
The clip even led to jokes about Elmer Fudd, the Looney Tunes hero famous for his impatient pursuit of Bugs Bunny. “Who did it better?” said Conservative pundit Ian Miles Cheong in an image of Walz and Fudd holding each other up.
The Harris campaign hasn’t yet responded to requests for comment, though the incident will certainly be used as an opportunity to fire back at Democrats.
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