This is an adapted excerpt from the Aug. 6 episode of “Alex Wagner Tonight,” guest hosted by Jen Psaki.
In 2010, then-Rep. Tim Walz ran a radio ad for his re-election campaign, proudly declaring his support for the National Rifle Association:
“Growing up, hunting taught me a lot about responsibility and respect. Lessons I hope to pass on to my kids. I’m proud to stand with the NRA to protect the rights of sportsmen and gun owners,” Walz said at the time.
That same year, not only did the NRA give Walz an “A” rating but the gun group endorsed him over his Republican challenger. And in 2016, “Guns and Ammo” Magazine named the Democrat one of the “Top 20 Politicians for Gun Owners.”
Fast-forward to 2023 and here’s what Walz, now serving as governor of Minnesota, had to say during his State of the State address:
The time for hiding behind thoughts and prayers is long gone. What we need is action and we need it now. So here’s what’s gonna happen: we got a gun safety bill on the table and we’re going to get it passed and I’m gonna sign it.”
One month after that speech, Gov. Walz did just that: He signed a bill creating a red flag law and expanding background checks for gun owners in Minnesota.
There are already plenty of articles online slamming Walz as a “political chameleon” or claiming that he made an “epic flip-flop” on guns. But that simply is not true.
This change for Walz had been more than a decade in the making.
In the wake of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in 2012 — a shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead — Walz wasn’t sure what the answer was on how to address gun violence but he told the media he wasn’t “willing to do nothing.”
After the Las Vegas shooting in 2017 killed nearly 60 people and injured almost 500, Walz donated every penny he had ever received from the NRA to charity.
In 2018, after the Parkland high school shooting killed 17 people and injured 17 more, Walz got a wake-up call from his own daughter, Hope. He recounted a conversation where she told him, “Dad you’re the only person I know who is in elected office, you need to stop what’s happening with this.”
Walz promised to act and said he would “take [his] kick in the butt from the NRA.”
Shortly after that shooting, Walz became one of the co-sponsors of the House’s assault weapons ban legislation.
The willingness to acknowledge and change your view isn’t a weakness in a leader — it’s a strength.
He explained that decision in a video to his constituents:
“If the question was, how do you get there? I’ve been open to it. I’ve listened. I’ve talked to people. I’ve watched people on both sides of this. But again, when I turn on my television like everybody else and this is repeated again and we’re not doing anything about it … I’ve seen enough. I’ve seen enough of this carnage.”
So yes, Walz’s position on how we should address gun violence has changed over the years — it was an evolution. And I bet a heck of a lot of Americans went through that same evolution with him.
The willingness to acknowledge and change your view isn’t a weakness in a leader — it’s a strength.
Join Jen Psaki, Rachel Maddow and many others on Saturday, Sept. 7, in Brooklyn, New York, for “MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024,” a first-of-its-kind live event. You’ll get to see your favorite hosts in person and hear thought-provoking conversations about what matters most in the final weeks of an unprecedented election cycle. Buy tickets here.
Sam Henneberry and Allison Detzel contributed.
