The photo first appeared on X, shared by Charles Herbster, a former Nebraska gubernatorial candidate who had Trump’s endorsement in 2022.Herbster’s spokesperson, Rod Edwards, confirmed that the people in the photo are indeed related to Tim Walz, according to AP. “The family in the picture are the descendants of Francis Walz, who was the brother of Tim Walz’s grandfather,” Edwards said.
In a twist of family drama, the Nebraska Walz clan confirmed their relation to Tim Walz. “Shortly after Governor Tim Walz was named the Democrat Party Vice Presidential nominee, our family had a get-together. We had t-shirts made to show support for President Trump and D Vance and took a group picture. That photo was shared with friends, and when we were asked for permission to post the picture, we agreed,” the written statement said as reported by AP. “The picture is real. The shirts are real. We are the Nebraska Walzs and we are related to Gov. Tim Walz, our grandfathers were brothers.”
Sandy Dietrich, Walz’s sister from Alliance, Nebraska, seemed bemused by the attention. “I suspected it might be people from that branch of the family. We weren’t close with them. We didn’t know them,” she said. Dietrich and Walz’s father, James Walz, died of lung cancer in 1984 when the future congressman and Minnesota governor was just a teenager. His father had been the school superintendent in Valentine, Nebraska.
Dietrich, a self-described “Democrat for Tim,” kept her focus on her own political choices, saying, “I know who I’m voting for. That’s all I can control.”
Adding more spice to the story, Tim Walz’s older brother, Jeff Walz, has publicly aired his grievances. Jeff, now living in Freeport, Florida, has been vocal about his disapproval of his younger brother’s political ideology. The New York Post reported on Jeff’s Facebook comments, where he expressed, “The stories I could tell. Not the type of character you want making decisions about your future.” Jeff even considered endorsing Trump himself!
Jeff Walz later clarified to NewsNation that his comments were more about childhood memories than political bitterness. Jeff said he and the 60-year-old governor have not spoken since the funeral of their younger brother, Craig Walz, in 2016, aside from a brief phone call last month through their mother. “Nobody wanted to sit with him, because he had car sickness and would always throw up on us, that sort of thing,” Jeff said, adding, “There’s really nothing else hidden behind there. People are assuming something else. There’s other stories like that, but I think that probably gives you the gist of it.”
As Tim Walz’s campaign for vice president continues, the viral photo and family squabbles add an extra layer of intrigue to the political landscape