Conservatives Have Invented a Conspiracy About Tim Walz’s Dog

Like dogs with a bone, the right won’t drop their efforts to malign Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

On Monday, prominent conservatives circulated an absurd allegation that Walz was faking the identity of his family’s dog Scout.

“This is Tim Walz tweeting about his dog Scout. Only problem is that these are two completely different dogs,” Dustin Grage, a columnist at the right-wing website Town Hall, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The post contrasted two images of Walz. One was of Walz with Scout — a black labrador mix — celebrating the pup’s birthday in June of 2022. The second showed Walz petting a different dog on October 19, 2022. “Couldn’t think of a better way to spend a beautiful fall day than at the dog park. I know Scout enjoyed it,” the governor captioned the image.

The same day, Walz posted a video on Instagram featuring Scout and several other dogs at a dog park. In the video, the governor is sporting the same jacket, beanie, and dog toy seen in the photo, and the dog featured in the X post is also clearly visible. In the clip, Walz jokingly asks Scout if he’s “jealous” of the attention he’s giving other dogs before giving him an affectionate rub. The photo of Walz at the dog park has seemingly been removed from his X account.

Given that Scout has been in Walz’s family since 2019, and recently got his own Vogue profile, reasonable bipedal thinkers might assume that Walz was simply posting a photo with a friendly dog he met at a dog park — not concocting an elaborate scheme to trick voters about his family pet.

Nevertheless, the right ran with Grage’s post like a hound who’d just stolen the Thanksgiving turkey off the dining room table.

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) quoted Grage’s post with the caption: “Why would Tim Walz do this? It’s Creepy?? and Weird??.”

“Tim Walz is an all-time legendary liar,” Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk wrote in a now-deleted tweet.

“Wait so Walz is even lying about his dog? Ruff stuff,” wrote former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is currently engaged to Donald Trump Jr.

Rogan O’Handley, a right-wing activist whose account “DC Draino” boasts more than 1.7 million followers, wrote in a since-deleted post that “If Tim Walz would lie about his dog’s name, he’ll lie about literally anything. Can’t put someone like that in charge of nuclear weapons.”

Grage’s post has since been tagged with a community note, but conservatives have made clear that there’s no line they’re not willing to cross in order to gin up a line of attack against Walz, be it his military record, his relationship with his son, or even — apparently — his dog.

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