It was the biggest stage in the political career of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. While many post-vice- presidential debate polls gave a slight edge to his Republican opponent, Sen. J.D. Vance, Walz scored some late points when he challenged Vance to acknowledge Donald Trump lost the last election.

“Did he lose the 2020 election?” Walz asked Vance. “Tim, I’m focused on the future,” Vance responded. “Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation?

“That is a damning non-answer,” Walz said. The Harris-Walz campaign immediately turned that into a campaign ad about the Jan. 6 uprising at the U.S. Capitol.

But Walz had an awkward moment himself when asked about discrepancies between his accounts of trips to China and Hong Kong dating back many years. He’s claimed several times he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in China and then was in China shortly after. Recent news media accounts uncovered an old newspaper photo and other documentation indicating he wasn’t in China until two months later.

“Minnesota Public Radio and other media outlets are reporting you actually didn’t travel to Asia until August of that year… Can you explain that discrepancy?” CBS News moderator Margaret Brennan asked. “Yeah, well, and to the folks out there who didn’t get at the top of this, look, I grew up in small, rural Nebraska, town of 400, town that you rode your bike with your buddies till the streetlights come on, and I’m proud of that service.” He went on to continue describing his background and why he became interested in China. But Brennan pressed him to answer the question.

“The question was, can you explain the discrepancy?” she asked. Walz responded, “All I said on this was I got there that summer and misspoke… so I will just… that’s what I’ve said. So, I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protests, went in, and from that, I learned a lot about what needed to be in governance.”

Maybe the most surprising moment came when Walz, during a discussion about gun control, revealed for one of the few times that his son Gus “witnessed” a shooting last year. “Look, I’ve got a 17-year-old and he witnessed a shooting in a community center playing volleyball. Those things don’t leave you.”

Vance immediately reacted with empathy. “Tim, first of all, I didn’t know that your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting. I’m sorry about that. Christ have mercy. It’s awful.”

Gus Walz was inside the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center in St. Paul in January 2023 when a shooting happened out in the parking lot. St. Paul police told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that because Gus was a juvenile at the time, they can’t say if his name is included in police reports.

Walz has mentioned the incident one other time on a campaign stop this month. He did not mention it during gun control debates at the State Capitol in 2023 when lawmakers approved red flag and background check laws.

You can view the full debate below: