MAGAworld has gone into meltdown over a conspiracy theory involving Tim Walz’s pet dog Scout.
Animal lover Walz regularly posts pictures and videos of his beloved labrador on social media, with his very first foray into TikTok featuring the family pet.
But now, in the latest bizarre Republican attack on the Minnesota governor since he was named Kamala Harris’ running mate, the Democratic vice presidential candidate has been accused of falsifying Scout’s identity.
“Yes, that’s Tim Walz tweeting about his dog Scout,” wrote Dustin Grage, a right-wing X columnist.
“The only problem is that they are two completely different dogs”.
Grage, whose X bio describes him as a “Minnesota GOP hype man,” posted two side-by-side photos of Walz.
In one photo, Walz is seen with Scout on June 16, 2022, with the caption, “Sending a special birthday shout out to our favorite pup, Scout.”
The second photo shows Walz with another dog dated October 22, 2022. “Couldn’t think of a better way to spend a beautiful fall day than at the dog park. I know Scout enjoyed it,” Walz wrote.
Grage’s post had been viewed more than seven million times and shared more than 20,000 times by Tuesday morning, according to X, as Donald Trump’s supporters were quick to jump on and circulate the bizarre conspiracy theory.
Former Fox News host Kimberley Guilfoyle, who is engaged to Donald Trump Jr., said: “Wait so Walz is even lying about his dog? Ruff thing.”
Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt said, “Why would Tim Walz do this? It’s creepy and weird.”
Grage later added that “Scout Gate” has “exposed the manufactured outrage of the left”.
He complained, “They’ll happily make up a story about JD Vance, but lose their minds over online trolls making fun of Tim Walz’s trail of lies.”
In fact, on the day the second photo was taken and posted online, Walz had shared a video on Instagram showing Scout and several other dogs at a dog park.
The Minnesota governor jokes in the video that Scout became “jealous” of the attention he was giving other dogs — one of which was the dog in the photo.
Elon Musk’s X has since added a community note to the original post that blew the fabricated scandal out of the water.
“The picture on the right is from a dog park that Tim Walz was in with Scout and many other dogs. In the video, Scout can be seen playing with these dogs,” it reads.
Clara Severson, who claims to have taken the original photo of Walz at the dog park, also went to X to tell Grage to “knock it off”.
“Hey Dusty, I took the picture of the governor with the red heeler mix. Guess what? Scout was at the dog park with him that morning. Being purposefully blunt is stupid, knock it off,” she replied.
Despite being debunked, the post has still not been removed by Grage.
It’s the latest in a growing list of taunts leveled by Republicans against Walz.
Since he was revealed as Harris’ VP pick, Republicans have accused Walz of “stolen valor” for allegedly exaggerating his military record and have claimed, without merit, that he intentionally avoided being deployed to Iraq.
Last week, a group of 50 Republican veterans wrote a letter accusing him of “gross misrepresentations” when discussing his military service.
Before retiring and running for Congress, Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard.
Walz has also come under fire for his past ties to China, with Republican Senator Ron Johnson baselessly claiming it’s a red flag that the “radical leftist” got married “on the anniversary of Tiananmen Square.”