Former President Donald Trump criticized Tim Walz on Truth Social, referring to him with the nickname “Tampon Tim” and questioning his qualifications for any political office. Trump attacked Walz based on comments suggesting he had “become friends with school shooters.” Trump asserted that both Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris lack the necessary qualifications for their roles.
Trump emphasized his point by posting two video clips of Walz’s comments and graphics featuring Walz’s picture alongside the school shooters’ quote. He further shared a screenshot of a post from Andrew Pollack, whose daughter was a victim in the Parkland school shooting. Pollack condemned Walz’s statement, calling it “disqualifying.”
Following his initial posts, Trump shared a meme featuring a hypothetical Trump-Vance yard sign with the tagline “Not Friends of School Shooters.” This meme was originally posted by Laura Loomer, a close ally of Trump who has been seen at his campaign events. Loomer intensified the conspiracy, questioning whether Walz had connections to individuals charged with attempting to assassinate Trump, and also posted a doctored “Friends” sitcom poster replacing actors’ faces with Walz and several mass shooters.
Despite other themes dominating post-debate discussion, Trump was dissatisfied with the lack of attention on Walz’s comments. He questioned why these statements weren’t more prominently discussed in the post-debate analyses.
In right-wing media circles, the claim that Walz had befriended school shooters quickly gained traction. Prominent figures like Jack Posobiec predicted that Walz’s comment would be the most memorable aspect of the debate, likening it to past notorious debate moments. Posobiec and others, including Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, posted critical comments and memes on social media platforms.
Tucker Carlson, former Fox News host and Trump ally, highlighted the issue on his post-debate show, suggesting it raised numerous questions and not accounting that Walz might have misspoken.
Numerous right-wing accounts on X shared clips of Walz’s comment without providing context, with some posts gaining millions of views. Additionally, footage of Walz, who declined to clarify his statement while getting pizza with his wife post-debate, also circulated widely.
