Republicans invent “desperate” and quickly debunked conspiracy theory about Tim Walz’s dog

The claim that the vice presidential candidate was faking his ownership of a dog was quickly debunked

By Marin Scotten

News Fellow

Published August 27, 2024 1:16PM (EDT)

Governor Tim Walz, First Lady Gwen Walz, and their son Gus, introduced the newest addition to their family, Scout, a 3-month-old Labrador Retriever mix they adopted a few days prior from Midwest Animal Rescue & Services, during a press conference Thursday, September 5, 2019 at the Governor's Residence in St. Paul, Minn. (Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Governor Tim Walz, First Lady Gwen Walz, and their son Gus, introduced the newest addition to their family, Scout, a 3-month-old Labrador Retriever mix they adopted a few days prior from Midwest Animal Rescue & Services, during a press conference Thursday, September 5, 2019 at the Governor's Residence in St. Paul, Minn. (Star Tribune via Getty Images)

On Monday, several prominent Republicans launched their latest attack on Tim Walz, this time coming after not his background or his policy, but his dog Scout. 

“This is Tim Walz tweeting about his dog Scout. Only problem is that these are two completely different dogs,” right-wing columnist Dustin Grage wrote on X. 

He shared two photos Walz had previously posted. One photo is from June 2022 and shows Walz with his dog Scout, who is a black labrador mix, and is captioned: “Sending a special birthday shoutout to our favorite pup, Scout.”

The other photo is from October 2022 and shows Walz petting a different dog at a dog park. “Couldn’t think of a better way to spend a beautiful fall day than at the dog park. I know Scout enjoyed it,” the caption reads.

Republicans falsely claimed the photos showed Walz was lying about the dog he’s very much had since 2019

Sen. Eric Schmidt, R-Mo., wrote that Walz's dog posts were “creepy” and “weird.”

“Wait so Walz is even lying about his dog?” wrote Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host and the fiancee of Donald Trump Jr. 

The rumor was quickly debunked by video of Scout and the other dog pictured running around the dog park together on that same day. 

This is just the latest attack from Republicans on Walz. From questioning his military background to his relationship with his son, none of their criticisms have landed, argued MSNBC host Jen Psaki. They’ve now gotten so “desperate” they’ve come after his dog, Psaki said. “Better luck next time, guys."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Tim Walz (@timwalz)


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