The National Rifle Association (NRA) was bluntly fact-checked after sharing a video of what they claimed was Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz "attempting to load his shotgun"—only for the conservative gun rights group to be quickly called out for not realizing Walz was actually unloading his gun safely.
The video, set to circus music, featured Walz in a field with a gun, which the organization claimed he was struggling to load. The clip showed Walz bent over, fiddling with the firearm’s mechanism before tapping the butt pad. It concluded with a graphic stating, "that dog don't hunt," implying the Minnesota governor was unfamiliar with how to handle his weapon.
The organization shared the video via its account on X, formerly Twitter, along with the following caption:
"Tim Walz previously claimed he kept a shotgun in his car so he could hunt pheasants after football practice. This is Tim Walz attempting to load his shotgun this past weekend."
However, a Community Note points out what the organization surely must have known (but chose to critique Walz for anyway):
"He is attempting to unload the tube without cycling the action. Safely."
You can see the post and the Community Note below.
The organization was swiftly mocked as a result.
Elected to the House of Representatives in 2007, Walz was long favored by gun rights supporters. The NRA endorsed him and donated to his campaigns, awarding him an A rating. In 2016, Guns & Ammo magazine named him one of the top 20 politicians for gun owners.
But things changed after the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, he has said. In a 2018 video reshared in July by March for Our Lives co-founder and Parkland survivor David Hogg, Walz recalls his teenage daughter, Hope, approaching him days after the shooting, asking him "to stop what’s happening with this.” Walz called the moment "both a reckoning and an embarrassment."
While campaigning for governor, Walz revealed he had donated the $18,000 the organization had contributed to his campaigns and vowed not to accept NRA donations in the future. He also noted that he was co-sponsoring a “bump stocks” ban and expressed support for an assault weapons ban.
As governor, Walz has signed several significant gun safety measures into law, including a 2023 bill introducing universal background checks and a “red flag law,” which allows state officials to temporarily seize firearms from individuals deemed dangerous by a court.
He stands by his transformation, recently stating, "I sleep just fine," knowing he now holds an F rating from the organization that once fully backed him.
