Tim Walz claims he ‘befriended school shooters’ in toe-curling gaffe during JD Vance clash

Tim Walz appeared to channel his inner Joe Biden during the vice-presidential debate against JD Vance by claiming he had “become friends with school shooters”.

Kamala Harris’s running mate struggled to convince Americans after he paused repeatedly during his remarks and made several mistakes.

In an exchange with Vance on gun control, Walz highlighted the impact of school shootings.

“I sat in that office with those Sandy Hook parents,” he said. “I’ve become friends with school shooters. I’ve seen it.”

He appeared to trying to say he had befriending the parents, as opposed to the criminals themselves.

The Donald Trump campaign immediately latched onto the apparent gaffe by releasing an image on his Truth Social platform.

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The image was a yard sign with the slogan: “Trump Vance 2024. Not friends with school shooters.”

Walz also admitted to “misspeaking” when he previously claimed he was in China at the time of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

He had actually travelled to Hong Kong some months after the incident.

“I’m a knucklehead at times”, he said. “I will get caught up in the rhetoric.”

Walz hasn’t adopted a hardline stance on gun control, something that is seen unusual by many as he is a Democrat.

He has spoken about his guns, and was previously backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

“I was an NRA guy for a long time. They used to teach gun safety,” he said on Tuesday.

“I’m of an age where my shotgun was in my car, so I could go pheasant hunting after football practice.”

Arguing that some guns should be restricted, he added: “Sometimes it is just the guns. It’s just the guns.”