Claim:
A photo shows relatives of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz wearing T-shirts reading “Nebraska Walz’s for Trump.”
Rating:
Context
The Associated Press confirmed the eight people visible in the picture are some of Walz’s distant cousins.
In December 2025, online users discussed a claim alleging a photo showed family members of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 vice-presidential running mate — wearing T-shirts reading “Nebraska Walz’s for Trump.”
On Dec. 7, a user posted the picture on their Facebook (archived) and X (archived) accounts with the caption, “Never forget that even Tim Walz’s own family despises him and voted for Trump.”
(@RyanAFournier/X)
In September 2024, a different X user’s post (archived) helped to popularize the photo, receiving more than 28 million views.
(@MattWolking/X)
At the time, some users claimed someone manipulated the image with an artificial-intelligence tool, which would mean it circulated under false pretenses. For example, one post on X showed yellow circles and arrows on the picture that pointed to purported discrepancies in the number of fingers on some of the people’s hands. That user posted, “Thanks to Walz’s for Trump we know this is not AI at all. It’s just the Walz family is genetically predisposed to having four fingers.”
While some users also questioned the apostrophe appearing on the T-shirts, others, including conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec (archived) and conservative commentator Benny Johnson (archived), claimed the photo showed Walz’s “entire family.”
In short, in September 2024, The Associated Press reported the photo was genuine and that the eight people visible in the picture were all distant cousins of Walz. In other words, Posobiec and Johnson posted misinformation.
The AP’s reporting cited Rod Edwards, a spokesperson for former Trump-endorsed Nebraska gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster. Herbster posted the photo on Sept. 4, 2024, captioning it, “Tim Walz’s family back in Nebraska wants you to know something… @realDonaldTrump @JDVance #SaveAmerica.”
The high-quality nature of the original image upload clarified some fingers obscured alleged missing fingers, dispelling claims of AI and “four fingers.”
Edwards told the AP, “The family in the picture are the descendants of Francis Walz, who was brother to Tim Walz’s grandfather.” He added, “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 Walz’s for Trump.”
For further reading, we previously reported about the true story of Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, giving a car to a next-door neighbor.
