Tim Walz falsely accused of saying he could 'outshoot' Trump gunman

In one of his first campaign stops after US Vice President Kamala Harris tapped him as her running mate in the 2024 presidential race, Tim Walz criticized Republicans on gun control. Social media users soon afterwards shared an out-of-context clip of the Minnesota governor alongside claims he bragged that he could have shot former president Donald Trump. In reality, he was discussing his skill in trap shooting.

"HOLY!! Tim Walz just said "I can outshoot 'em, I can outshoot these guys” Implying that hes a better shot than Thomas Crooks." said a post on X from August 7, 2024.

"This is disturbing behavior.. he’s inciting violence on president Trump!"

The same clip and claim have spread elsewhere on X, Facebook and Instagram. Some of the posts directly compare Walz to Trump's would-be assassin, while others reference the shooting itself.

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Screenshot from X taken August 9, 2024

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire on Trump during a rally in the US state of Pennsylvania (archived here). One spectator was killed, and two others were critically wounded before a Secret Service sniper team shot and killed the gunman.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee during a July 24 hearing that investigators "do not yet have a clear picture" of Crooks's motive. However, they have determined that he acted alone.

Harris named Walz, a Minnesota congressman former schoolteacher, as her running mate at the end of a three-week "veepstakes" on August 6 following President Joe Biden's decision to end his re-election campaign.

A keyframe search on the video reveals the footage is from a campaign event at which Harris and Walz spoke at in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on August 7. Walz attacked Republican Party positions on topics including reproductive rights, student debt and health care.

In a section of the speech urging stricter federal gun control regulations, he said that he was the "top gun" in trap shooting -- a type of clay pigeon shooting -- and that he could "outshoot" other members of Congress who opposed gun control laws (archived here and here).

Neither he nor Harris referenced Crooks or the Trump rally shooting anywhere in their remarks, the full text of which was released by the White House (archived here).

"And just like Wisconsin, over in Minnesota, we believe in the Second Amendment, but we also believe in common sense gun violence laws," he said about nine minutes into the event.

"And just so you know, when I was in Congress, I was the top gun at the trap shoot three years in a row -- I can outshoot 'em too. I can outshoot these guys."

News coverage of the Wisconsin rally made no mention of the claims on social media. AFP contacted a spokesperson for Walz, but a response was not forthcoming.

AFP has debunked other false and misleading claims about Walz.