Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s older brother posted scathing statements about the Democratic vice presidential candidate on social media before confirming to the media that he does not support his brother’s left-wing views but plans to keep a low profile during the campaign.
“I got a lot of feedback from my friends and old acquaintances who thought I felt the same way as my brother on this issue, and I tried to make that clear only to my friends,” Jeff Walz, Tim Walz’s older brother, told News Nation this week. “I used Facebook, which was not the right platform for it. But I have to say, I don’t agree with his politics.”
Reports had been mounting over Labor Day weekend that Jeff was no fan of the left-leaning Democratic governor of Minnesota’s policies and had made his views known to friends and family through his Facebook account. While the media reported on the social media posts over the holiday weekend, Jeff and the Harris campaign remained silent, with the New York Post exclusively publishing the headline: “Tim Walz’s older brother is ‘100% against his entire ideology’ and believes the vice presidential candidate is not ‘the guy’ who should decide the future of the US.”
After Jeff’s profile on X went viral, a Facebook user wrote a message under one of his public posts urging him to “talk to his brother,” who is currently running for President Kamala Harris’s vice president.
TRUMP ACTS LIKE ELON MUSK AND TALKS ABOUT ROCKETS: “I’M MAKING A NEW HUB OUT OF STAINLESS STEEL”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks during the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on August 21. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I am 100 percent against his entire ideology,” Jeff posted in a Facebook message Friday night, referring to his brother.
“My family was not informed that he was selected and was denied protection in the days that followed,” he added.
A Facebook profile under the name Jeff Walz identified himself as the brother of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and announced that the two were estranged. (Facebook / Jeff Walz)
Harris criticizes Trump over dispute at Arlington National Cemetery, triggering strong reaction from JD Vance
“Help MAGA… Get on stage with President Trump and support him…; Help save this country…” wrote one Trump supporter under Jeff’s post.
“I’ve been thinking about doing something like this for a long time!” Jeff replied. “I’m torn between doing this and keeping my family out of it.”
Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks during a campaign rally with Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris at the Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia on August 6. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“The stories I could tell,” he continued. “Not the kind of character you want making decisions about your own future.”
Speaking to News Nation, Jeff explained that his Facebook posts were intended to make it clear to his friends and family that he disagreed with his brother’s policies, not to influence voters’ opinions.
“It was not my intention, it was not our intention as a family, to release anything to influence the public,” Jeff told the outlet on Tuesday.
He added that the “stories” he could tell about his brother were merely family anecdotes, such as Tim vomiting in the car on family trips, and not stories of a political nature.
Walz faced another accusation of misrepresentation in a scathing letter that surfaced: “Remove any reference”
“Nobody wanted to sit with him because he was getting car sick and throwing up all the time, stuff like that,” Jeff said. “There’s really nothing else hidden there. People assume something else. There are other stories like that, but I think that probably gives you the gist of it.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, his wife Gwen Walz, his son Gus and his daughter Hope appear onstage during day 3 of the Democratic National Convention on August 21 at the United Center in Chicago. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
Jeff and Tim Walz are estranged. They last saw each other in 2016 at her younger brother’s funeral, the elder Walz said. Jeff’s wife texts the Minnesota governor “happy birthday,” and the two spoke briefly on the phone earlier this year when Tim called her mother.
“He called her on her cell phone and she gave me the phone. I spoke to him briefly,” Jeff explained.
“Harris’ team was vetting him for the vice presidency. He had asked me for some personal information, tax information and things like that, and I refused to give it out at that point, but the conversation lasted about two minutes.”
FLASHBACK: OBAMA WAS ONE OF THE FIRST STRONG DEMS TO SUPPORT WALZ AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS POLITICAL CAREER
Jeff said he would now take a low profile in the campaign and would not campaign to support or oppose the Harris-Walz ticket.
“There will be no further explanations to anyone and we are not campaigning for him or against him or anything like that,” he said.
Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris listens to her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, speak during a visit to members of the Liberty County High School marching band in Hinesville, Georgia, on August 28. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
VAN JONES: WALZ MUST ADMIT HE EXAGGERATED MILITARY RECORDS SO DEMS CAN ‘MOVE ON’
Governor Walz has three siblings: Jeff Walz, Craig Walz and Sandy Dietrich.
After growing up in rural Nebraska, Jeff moved to the East Coast and now lives in Florida.
Craig was killed by a falling tree during a storm while camping at a lake in Minnesota in 2016. He worked in Minnesota as a chemistry, math and geometry teacher, similar to Governor Walz, before entering politics in the early 2000s.
Dietrich reportedly lives in Nebraska and has kept a low profile before and during her brother’s vice presidential campaign.
Tim Walz is called a “political chameleon” after abandoning his previous stance for the Second Amendment
Vice President Kamala Harris is currently a member of the Biden administration. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Jeff added that he was “offended” when he learned that Harris had chosen the Minnesota governor as her running mate.
“The only thing I objected to, and I stand behind this 100%, was that we felt bad when we heard on the radio that he was nominated as the vice presidential candidate,” Jeff said. “And we felt like we should have been given at least a little warning and covered in some way because I think this is a big deal.”
Governor Walz entered the political arena in the 2006 election cycle when he ran to represent Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected that year and held his seat until 2019, when he was elected governor of the Gopher State.
Gov. Walz was relatively unknown to voters outside Minnesota before speculation arose that Harris might nominate him as her running mate. Since then, he has come under fire from veterans and political opponents, including for allegedly making false statements about his decades in the Army National Guard before retiring in 2005, his handling of the 2020 Minnesota unrest and his back-and-forth on the Second Amendment.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital contacted the Harris-Walz campaign team about the Facebook posts and Jeff’s interview, but did not immediately receive a response. Jeff did not respond to Fox Digital’s repeated attempts to contact him.
