MAGA-supporting social media users have taken aim at Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, claiming he misrepresented his dog Scout’s identity.
On Monday, Twitter user @GrageDustin, who brands himself as a “Minnesota GOP Hype Man,” shared two screenshots from Walz’s posts that featured him with two different dogs. Walz referred to his dog Scout in both images.
“Yes this is Tim Walz tweeting about his dog Scout,” @GrageDustin asserted. “Only problem is that these are two completely different dogs.” By Tuesday morning, this post had racked up 7 million views.
Conservative commentator @AlexanderPayton chimed in, saying, “Happy National Dog Day from Tim Walz, who apparently lied about this too.”
Prominent MAGA influencer @catturd2, known for controversial remarks and actions, shared a meme with the phrase “Tim Walz with his 50 dogs named Scout,” showcasing a man with many dogs.
However, these claims were quickly debunked. A community note appeared on @GrageDustin’s original tweet clarifying that the second dog was one Walz encountered while he and Scout were at the dog park. The note included a link to a video showing Scout playing with the other dog.
In response to the misinformation, left-leaning Twitter users jumped into the fray. @WUTankKids stated, “MAGAs are so dumb…the dog on the right is just a random dog at the dog park that Scout was playing with….you morons could’ve done ‘your own research’ and found the video in 10 seconds.” This post gained over 400,000 views by Tuesday.
MAGAs are so dumb…the dog on the right is just a random dog at the dog park that Scout was playing with….you morons could’ve done “your own research” and went to Tim Walz’s Instagram and found the video in 10 seconds https://t.co/1hBlI6MhA9 pic.twitter.com/2t3T7lH144
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) August 26, 2024
Another user, @swannmarcus89, humorously noted this was just the latest in a string of minor “scandals” involving Walz, listing prior controversies that included everything from preventing a family member from bumping into a teleprompter to minor exaggerations about awards.
Ironically, some users pointed out the inconsistency in MAGA’s criticisms of Walz, especially when compared to South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s past admission of shooting her “untrainable” puppy, Cricket.
User @CaneRidgeSSR reposted a previous critique from Noem, linking to a photo showing Walz with a gun and another dog, captioned, “Notice how the barrel of Walz’s gun is pointed away from his dog.”
Additionally, political commentator @Acyn shared a clip of former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki highlighting the irony of the attack from Noem’s camp, questioning how they could criticize Walz given their own member’s troubled relationship with her pets.