Walz's “Knucklehead” response goes viral, meme-fest galore

Additionally, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar insisted that while Harris' running mate is a “strong person,” she is “just not a lawyer-debating type.” Regardless of the outcome of the debate or how some of the candidates' claims failed to pass the fact check, what was clearly noticeable to netizens was that Trump's vice presidential nominee JD Vance kept his cool throughout the debate. Meanwhile, the Minnesota governor, who appeared to be struggling with nerves on Tuesday, let a faux pas slip into his arguments when questioned about his alleged presence in Hong Kong in 1989 when the Tiananmen Square massacre claimed hundreds of lives .

The much-controversial claims led to a discrepancy just days before the only vice-presidential debate. Recent news reports out of Nebraska suggest that Walz may have actually been in the United States and instead made his trip to China after the massacre. The issue inevitably took center stage on Tuesday when he was asked about the starkly different narratives.

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Tim Walz admits he “misspoke” his decades-old statement about Tiananmen Square

Walz visibly struggled to answer the question as he said, “I tried to do my best. I wasn't perfect and sometimes I'm a dick.”

“Often I talk a lot and get lost in the rhetoric,” he continued. “Being there, what impact it had, what difference it made in my life, I learned a lot about China.”

Finally he admitted, “I got there that summer and spelled it wrong.”

A decade ago, Walz said he was in Hong Kong in May 1989 during a 2014 congressional hearing. Kamala Harris' vice president-elect insisted on witnessing the shocking development and repeated the message in February 2024: “And as the events unfolded, several of us went in. And I still remember the train station in Hong Kong.” ”

However, his story fell apart when local news reports published by The Washington Free Beacon in late September resurfaced the claims, claiming he was in Nebraska in May and June 1989.

Reactions to Tim Walz calling himself a “knucklehead.”

The Minnesota governor, previously nicknamed “Tampon Tim,” was given a new pseudonym after Tuesday's debate: “Knucklehead Walz,” as a flood of memes erupted online following the gaffe.

Former Trump adviser and commentator Steve Cortes wrote on “Everyone is aware of this, Tim.”

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That same evening, Walz stunned the internet with another verbal blunder: “I became friends with school shooters,” which only made social media laugh even harder. “Tim Walz made a faux pas tonight. First he admits he's a dick, then he becomes friends with school shooters,” quipped former AOL and AccuWeather journalist Andrew Tavani. He also wrote: “Walz gives Trump campaign final push promotional material with knucklehead remark.”

An Bold strategy, I think.” Some even compared his “lying” behavior to that of Pinochhio.

Meanwhile, another netizen said, “Walz said Knucklehead was the most comforting thing I've heard about a Midwestern dad this entire election cycle.”