Tim Walz’s brother stands by criticism of his policies but says Facebook ‘wasn’t the right platform’ to express views
By Aaron Pellish, CNN
4 minute read
Published 3:37 PM EDT, Wed September 4, 2024
CNN —
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s brother said Tuesday that he doesn’t agree with the Democrat’s policies but expressed some remorse for inserting himself into the spotlight after he posted on social media last week he is “100% opposed” to his brother’s political views and was considering officially endorsing former President Donald Trump.
Jeff Walz, the older brother of Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, told NewsNation in an interview that he didn’t intend to “influence the general public” with social media posts that indicated his support for Trump over Harris’ and his brother’s campaign and said he has no plans to be campaigning “for him or against him” ahead of November’s election.
The Harris-Walz campaign declined to comment.
Jeff Walz’s comments come after he wrote on Facebook that he hasn’t spoken to his brother in eight years but is “100% opposed to all his ideology.”
In another comment on Friday, he responded to someone suggesting he “get on stage” with Trump and offer his official endorsement by saying he’s weighing his family’s privacy against his desire to keep his brother out of higher public office, indicating he knows “stories” about Gov. Walz that would reflect poorly on him.
“I’ve thought hard about doing something like that!” he wrote in response to the idea of formally endorsing Trump. “I’m torn between that and just keeping my family out of it. The stories I could tell. Not the type of character you want making decisions about your future.”
Jeff Walz said he regrets sharing his views on Facebook, and explained he made the posts to clarify his views to people in his life who thought he was aligned with Tim Walz politically.
“It was a post that – that I made because I was getting a lot of feedback from my friends, old acquaintances, thinking that I was feeling the same way that my brother did on the issues, and I was trying to clarify that just to friends,” he told NewsNation. “I used Facebook, which wasn’t the right platform to do that for.”
Jeff Walz lamented the distance between him and his brother, saying “it’s too bad” they’ve grown apart and expressing hope for the possibility they can “disagree and still be civil brothers.” He added that any “stories” he had to share about Tim Walz wouldn’t reveal anything “hidden” about him.... |
