Following a viral image of what appeared to be family members of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz wearing T-shirts bearing the text, “Nebraska Walz’s for Trump,” right-wing online media personality Benny Johnson claimed that the entirety of Walz’s family is backing former President Donald Trump.
“The *entire* family of Kamala Harris running mate Tim Walz just endorsed TRUMP,” Johnson claimed in a post sharing the viral photo. “This is the greatest troll of the 2024 election.”
Johnson’s claim is mostly false and missing important context. While a small number of Walz’s distant family members have publicly expressed support for Trump, no close family members to Walz have formally endorsed Trump’s presidential campaign.
Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, was born in Nebraska. The family members featured in the viral image are descendants of Francis Walz—the brother to Tim Walz’s grandfather—making them cousins of the Democratic running mate, not immediate family members. “We are the Nebraska Walz family and we are related to Gov. Tim Walz, our grandfathers were brothers,” the family wrote in a statement to the Associated Press. “The message on the shirts speaks for itself, ‘Nebraska Walzs for Trump.’”
Jeff Walz, a 67-year old Florida resident and older brother to the Minnesota governor, recently shared on Facebook that he does not agree with his brother’s political beliefs and has considered endorsing Trump, but has not formally done so. Responding to a request from a Facebook user that he endorse Trump, the older Walz replied on the social media platform, “I’ve thought long and hard about doing something like that! I’m torn between that and just keeping my family out of it.”
“Not the type of character you want making important decisions about your future,” he said of his brother. Jeff Walz later told NewsNation that he did not want any involvement with Trump’s presidential campaign, and only wanted to clarify that he didn’t share his brother’s political beliefs. “I used Facebook, which wasn’t the right platform to do that,” he said. “But I will say, I don’t agree with his policies.”
Notably, Jeff Walz also mentioned in separate social media posts that he has not spoken to his brother in eight years—around the same time he donated $20 to the 2016 Trump campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The Minnesota governor also has a sister, Sandy Dietrich, who has not publicly commented on Walz’s candidacy or the election. Tim Walz’s third sibling, Craig Walz, died in 2016 from a weather-related incident while camping.
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