The brother of Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) revealed that Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate is “not the type of character you want making decisions about your future.”
In a Facebook post from March 2023, Jeff Walz, one of the Minnesota governor’s siblings, responded to comments from people telling him to talk to his brother and to “help MAGA.”
“We’ve just become a third-world banana republic,” Jeff Walz wrote in his post at the time.
One of the commenters on the post told Jeff Walz to “have a talk” with his brother.
“Haven’t spoke to him in 8 years,” Jeff Walz claimed in a comment. “I’m opposed to all his ideology. My family wasn’t given any notice [that] he was selected and denied security the days after.”
In another comment, a person told him to “Help MAGA” and “Get on stage with President Trump and endorse him.”
“Help save this country,” the person added.
“I’ve thought hard about doing something like that,” Jeff Walz responded. “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.”
Walz, who was named Harris’s running mate at the beginning of August, has faced criticism and accusations of stolen valor after he previously listed in his official biography that he retired at a rank higher than the one he had actually retired at.
As Breitbart News reported, Walz retired from the Minnesota Army National Guard at the rank of sergeant, or an E-8, though his biography had previously implied he had retired as a command sergeant major, or an E-9:
Walz served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and retired at the rank of master sergeant, or an E-8. However, on his official website bio, he lists a higher rank that he served at for a short period that ultimately was rescinded, as he did not complete all the requirements to serve at that rank. However, his bio implies that he retired at the rank of command sergeant major, or an E-9.
The reference to Walz being a “retired command sergeant major” was later removed from Walz’s biography by the Harris campaign, and it was updated to note that Walz had once reached the rank of command sergeant major.
Walz has also faced criticism after he claimed in a 2018 video posted by the Harris-Walz campaign that he had carried weapons in war:
I spent 25 years in the Army and I hunt. I’ve been voting for common sense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks. We can research the impacts of gun violence. We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war.
Gov. @Tim_Walz: I spent 25 years in the Army and I hunt. I’ve been voting for common sense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks. We can research the impacts of gun violence. We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war,… pic.twitter.com/3IVaXi2RP2
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 6, 2024
Walz has also faced criticism when it was revealed he broke a pledge to deploy to Iraq with his U.S. Army National Guard Unit.
An archived press release from then-congressional candidate Walz’s campaign revealed he was aware the “National Guard Public Affairs Office” had announced there would be a “possible mobilization of roughly 2,000 troops from the Minnesota National Guard.”
Walz went on to retire from the military while his unit deployed to Iraq.
Retired Command Sergeant Major Thomas Behrends, who replaced Walz after he retired from the Minnesota National Guard, described Walz as a “traitor” and “military imposter.”
Walz’s former battalion commander has also criticized the Minnesota governor, stating that he did not “successfully complete any assignment” at the rank of Command Sergeant Major or “earn the rank.”
The Minnesota governor is described as being one of four siblings. His siblings are Sandy Dietrich, Jeff Walz, and Craig Walz, according to Today.
Dietrich reportedly lives in Nebraska, while Jeff Walz is reported as living in Florida, according to the outlet.
Craig Walz, a former high school teacher, reportedly died in June 2016 while camping at Duncan Lake, according to KARE 11 News.