Kamala Harris’s running mate Gov. Tim Walz (Minn.) was widely ridiculed on social media Saturday after appearing not to know how to handle his shotgun during a contrived pheasant hunt photo op.
In a bid to woo male voters as polls show the Harris-Walz campaign struggling with that demographic, Walz donned orange hunting gear and hit the trail with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to portray himself as a blue-collar regular Joe with rural roots.
Walz at one point was seen struggling to load his shotgun and notably did not shoot any pheasants during the event.
Tim Walz brought his own gun, a beretta, to hunt for pheasants, he tells me. “
— Shawna Mizelle (@shawnamizelle) October 12, 2024
I bought it when I was we shooting a lot of trap,” the Minnesota governor said. pic.twitter.com/K1zGkWYEPY
Tampon Tim Walz did a lot of posing for the cameras during his "hunting" photo op today.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 12, 2024
He didn't fire his gun and shot exactly zero pheasants.
It's all fake. pic.twitter.com/84LxOE6SW0
Meanwhile, the mainstream media did their part touting Walz as a regular rural Minnesotan during his photo op.
MSNBC implies that Tim Walz going pheasant hunting is nothing more than a desperate attempt to make up ground with male voters.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 12, 2024
Sorry Tim, men aren’t voting for a gun grabber. pic.twitter.com/Asvq38ObkM
Walz was widely mocked on social media for the cringeworthy stunt as many found it apparent that Walz likely never handles firearms or hunts for sport.
What an absolute goofball. He clearly doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near him when he’s holding that. You might get Dick Cheney’d standing around there! 😂
— MrSimmonsSr 🇺🇸 (@MrSimmonsSr) October 12, 2024
If you're going to do something for the first time, do NOT do it in front of cameras.
— Mark Poling (@markpoling) October 12, 2024
I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t hunted in his life.
— ♠️Audsauce♠️ (@Audjuice9989) October 12, 2024
For the gun illiterate:
— Rob W. (@BikesandBitcoin) October 12, 2024
He needs to lock the bolt open to put in a shell, but hasn't hit the correct little button to lock the bolt open, which is why he's struggling.
You don't put the first shell in from the bottom on a gun like that, only the second and third
same energy pic.twitter.com/DR7dBnBAi3
— Tom Pappert (@realTomPappert) October 12, 2024
This dude has literally never seen a rifle before in his entire life holy shit lol
— John Willow (@JohnathonWillow) October 12, 2024
Either he hasn’t done this in a while, or it was his first time loading a shotgun
— Lafayette Lee (@Partisan_O) October 12, 2024
The other bad thing is that he was in the military. He should know how to handle a weapon. 🤦🏻♀️
— Casey (@ARK_Casey) October 12, 2024
Someone take that away from him before he shoots someone like Dick Cheney or Alec Baldwin did. He clearly doesn’t know what the fuck he is doing.
— CowboysBlue22 (@CC_Fever_22) October 12, 2024
Tim Walz fumbling around with his $2k shotgun trying to convince that he's a true "gun owner."
— History-Actual (@T00ManyCommies) October 12, 2024
What a joke.
According to recent polls, the Harris-Walz campaign has been struggling with male voters, prompting the campaign to pull stunts like these as well as the recent release of a campaign ad targeting “real men” begging for their support.
I present to you the cringiest political ad ever created. pic.twitter.com/P0JMI1caNS
— Champagne Joshi (@JoshWalkos) October 11, 2024