Current:Home > MyThat photo of people wearing ‘Nebraska Walz’s for Trump’ shirts? They’re distant cousins -Summit Capital Strategies
That photo of people wearing ‘Nebraska Walz’s for Trump’ shirts? They’re distant cousins
NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-11 02:37:39
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A sister of Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz says she doesn’t recognize the people wearing “Nebraska Walz’s for Trump” T-shirts in a photo that is making the rounds on social media. It turns out they are distant cousins.
The photo shows eight smiling people wearing navy pro-Trump shirts, underneath a “Trump 2024 — Take America Back” sign. The photo was eventually reposted by former President Donald Trump, who wrote on his Truth Social platform: “It is a Great Honor to have your Endorsement. I look forward to meeting you soon!”
The photo was first posted on X by Charles Herbster, a former candidate for governor in Nebraska who had Trump’s endorsement in the 2022 campaign. Herbster’s spokesperson, Rod Edwards, said the people in the photo are cousins to the Minnesota governor, who is now Kamala Harris’ running mate.
“The family in the picture are the descendants of Francis Walz, who was brother to Tim Walz’s grandfather,” Edwards said. “They’re all Walzes and spouses.”
The descendants of Francis Walz confirmed their relationship to Tim Walz in a text message to The Associated Press.
“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 J.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.
“The picture is real. The shirts are real. We are the Nebraska Walz family and we are related to Gov. Tim Walz, our grandfathers were brothers. The message on the shirts speaks for itself, “Nebraska Walzs for Trump.”
Walz’s sister, Sandy Dietrich, of Alliance, Nebraska, said she suspected it might be people from that branch of the family. 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.
“We weren’t close with them. We didn’t know them,” she said.
Dietrich declined to comment on their distant cousins’ opposition to her brother and referred to herself and her family as “Democrats for Tim.”
“I know who I’m voting for. That’s all I can control,” she said.
But Tim Walz’s other surviving sibling is not behind his candidacy.
In recent days, the New York Post has reported on Facebook comments from the governor’s older brother, Jeff Walz of Freeport, Florida, in which he said of his younger sibling: “The stories I could tell. Not the type of character you want making decisions about your future.” The 67-year-old also wrote that he was “100% opposed to all his ideology” and had thought about endorsing Trump, the Post reported.
In comments published Wednesday by NewsNation, Jeff Walz said that he was still irked he learned on the radio that his brother would be Harris’ running mate, but that he didn’t intend to influence the political debate and doesn’t want to be involved with anybody’s campaign.
Jeff Walz told NewsNation that 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. He told NewsNation that what he was referring to in his post by “stories” were from their childhood.
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Today’s news: Follow live updates from the campaign trail from the AP.
- Ground Game: Sign up for AP’s weekly politics newsletter to get it in your inbox every Monday.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
“Nobody wanted to sit with him, because he had car sickness and would always throw up on us, that sort of thing,” Jeff Walz said. “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.”
He also told NewsNation that he would make no further statements on the subject. He did not immediately return messages left Wednesday by the AP.
___
Associated Press writers Randy Herschaft and Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Pop-Tarts asks Taylor Swift to release Chiefs treats recipe
- JetBlue and Spirit abandon their decision to merge after it was blocked by a judge
- Russian drone attack kills 7 in Odesa, Ukraine says
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- Apple fined almost $2 billion by EU for giving its music streaming service leg up over rivals'
- Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Kyle Richards’ Guide To Cozy Luxury Without Spending a Fortune
- GM recalls nearly 820,000 pickup trucks over latch safety issue
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- War in Gaza and settler violence are taking a toll on mental health in the West Bank
Ranking
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- Man convicted of New York murder, dismemberment in attempt to collect woman's life insurance
- A woman wins $3.8 million verdict after SWAT team searches wrong home based on Find My iPhone app
- Horoscopes Today, March 4, 2024
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- Dormitory fire forces 60 students into temporary housing at Central Connecticut State University
- Nevada Democratic US Sen. Jacky Rosen, at union hall rally, makes reelection bid official
- Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos Welcome First Baby
Recommendation
'Most Whopper
The Daily Money: Trump takes aim at DEI
Multiple explosions, fire projecting debris into the air at industrial location in Detroit suburb
Hurt by inflation, Americans yearn for pensions in retirement. One answer may be annuities
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
2024 Oscar Guide: International Feature
Nashville woman missing for weeks found dead in creek as homicide detectives search for her car
Court rules Florida’s “stop woke” law restricting business diversity training is unconstitutional