Vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz is accused of “staged” a pheasant-hunting stunt to “woo” male voters, as critics spot a glaring blunder.
The 60-year-old Minnesota governor returned to his home state to attend the inaugural pheasant hunt in Sleepy Eye on Saturday, about 100 miles from Minneapolis.
During a press opportunity, Walz and his daughter Hope were seen at the event where the politician greeted his fellow hunters, before standing in a circle for a quick chat dressed in bright orange reflective gear.
His attendance at the event comes as the Harris-Walz campaign has begun sending the governor to swing states to hopefully encourage voters to cast a blue ballot.
However, detractors immediately noticed something strange about Walz’s appearance at the first pheasant hunting party: all of the hunters were unarmed, even though Walz is a legal gun owner and had been recorded with a gun on the event in previous years.
‘Did anyone see what was missing? Where are your weapons? I saw cameras but no weapons. “Then they took him out with some guys in vests and took photos of him playing with a dog,” one wrote on X.
The 60-year-old Minnesota governor (pictured with his daughter Hope) returned to his home state to attend the inaugural pheasant hunting event in Sleepy Eye, about 100 miles from Minneapolis, on Saturday.
Their attendance at the event comes as the Harris-Walz campaign has begun its new tactic of sending the governor to swing states to hopefully encourage male voters to cast a blue ballot.
‘Pheasant hunting without firearms. Democrats are all about perception without reality,” Jeff Carlson wrote in X.
“Kinda hard to hunt without a gun,” one wrote.
It is unknown if Walz was filmed before or after hunting or if he participated in the Minnesota tradition this weekend.
In previous years, Walz attended and hosted pheasant openers and posted several photos and videos of him enjoying the Midwest activity. He has yet to post photos from today’s events.
In 2022, the Minnesota resident posted a photo of himself and a group of six other men in Worthington at the Governor’s inaugural pheasant hunting event, where Walz was seen with his gun and a dead bird.
‘And I’m happy to report that I caught two birds this morning!’ he wrote excitedly on the tweet.
In 2020, a now widely circulated image of Walz holding a gun in a field with a white and brown dog was shared with his fan base, while wishing “good luck to all hunters participating in this tradition (and socially).” distant) Minnesota tradition!’
Detractors immediately criticized the hunters for not showing their guns in the images, even though Walz was a legal gun owner.
He also shared a photo of him in a field with two other people, far apart to respect the pandemic’s social distancing rule.
In 2019, Walz attended the inaugural governor’s pheasant hunt in Austin, Minnesota, and posted a series of photos of him shooting a bird from the sky and holding it.
In one photo, he triumphantly raised his fist after killing at the event. He told his followers that he “caught a bird” that year.
At this year’s event, Walz was expected to meet with outdoor-focused influencers, according to Minnesota’s star tribune. They were expected to discuss the Second Amendment, conservation, hunting and gun safety.
Walz is also expected to travel to Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to talk about hunting and coaching football, as well as encouraging black voters to get involved in politics, according to The Tribune.
His appearance at the inaugural Pheasant game comes a day after he went on X to criticize Republican candidate Donald Trump and his vice president pick, JD Vance, for “fabricating nonsense.”
Walz slammed Donald Trump for “fabricating nonsense” after the former president warned in Detroit that the entire country will “end up like Detroit.”
In previous years, Walz attended and hosted pheasant openings and posted several photos and videos of him enjoying the Midwest activity (pictured: Walz at the 2022 Governor’s Pheasant Hunt Opening).
In 2019 (pictured) and 2022, Walz ‘bagged’ a bird or two while enjoying the activity.
In one photo, he triumphantly raised his fist after killing at the event. He told his followers he ‘caught a bird’ in 2019
That prompted a reaction from Walz, who has had his own series of recent gaffes, including occasionally calling himself a “fool” during the vice presidential debate.
“Look, Donald Trump and JD Vance have a little different view of things. Just yesterday, Donald Trump was in Detroit and said, ‘Our whole country is going to end up being Detroit. You’re going to have a mess on your hands,'” Walz said.
—Well, look, I know no, that’s not unexpected for him. That’s exactly what he’s going to do: bring down America. But if the guy had ever spent any time in the Midwest, as we all know, we know the Detroit experience in the American comeback, in the Renaissance.
Look, I’m a (Minnesota) Twins fan and you whipped our butts,” Walz said. ‘We know where this is. Detroit is there. This is how we know: the city is growing, crime has decreased, factories are opening. But those guys, all they know about manufacturing is manufacturing nonsense. Every time they show up, every time they show up,’ he said, earning laughter from the crowd.
A new Wall Street Journal poll released Friday gave Harris a 2-point lead, 49-47, over Trump, within the margin of error, in a close race.