By Jack Davis September 5, 2024 at 6:24am
Amid news reports that there are political rifts in the family of Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, former President Donald Trump said he knows for certain some of his family members are on his side.
The comment came during a Wednesday night town hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, hosted by Fox News host Sean Hannity.
“I was so honored today,” Trump said in a video posted to X. “His brother endorsed me.; and his whole family.”
BREAKING: Trump just formally accepted the endorsement from Tim Walz’s entire family
“I was so honored today. His brother endorsed me.. and his whole family.”
Tim Walz and Kamala Harris have gone completely silent on this. They must be PANICKING because having your entire… pic.twitter.com/XxIaydvXaW
— George (@BehizyTweets) September 5, 2024
“I saw the picture and honestly It was a very nice-looking family, but his brother endorsed me and the whole family endorsed me,” Trump said.
Trump then went on a riff about Walz, who has called Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, “weird.”
“There’s something weird with that guy. He’s a weird guy. JD is not weird. He’s a solid rock. I happen to be a very solid rock,” he said.
“We’re not weird. We’re other things, perhaps, but we’re not weird,” Trump said. “There’s something wrong with that guy, and he calls me weird.”
Should Jeff Walz speak at a Trump rally?
Hannity noted the event was initially scheduled to be a debate between Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, but Harris refused to participate, according to the New York Post.
Trump’s comments came as Jeff Walz, the Minnesota governor’s older brother, said he is pulling back from the political spotlight.
Jeff Walz had posted on Facebook that he “thought long and hard” about making a public endorsement of Trump, but said he has had second thoughts.
“It wasn’t my intent, it wasn’t our intent as a family, to put something out there to influence the general public,” Jeff Walz said, according to NewsNation.
“There is going to be no further statements to anybody, and we’re not campaigning or anything for him or against him or anything like that,” he said.
The comments came as an image making the rounds of social media shows Walz clan members supporting Trump.
Charles Herbster, a Nebraska Republican, posted the image on X.
“Tim Walz’s family back in Nebraska wants you to know something,” he wrote.
Tim Walz’s family back in Nebraska wants you to know something…@realDonaldTrump @JDVance #SaveAmerica🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/zp08nuKAun
— Charles W. Herbster (@CWHerbster) September 4, 2024
A representative for Herbster told Fox News the people photographed are linked to Walz through his grandfather’s brother, Francis Walz.
Fox News said one person in the photo, whose name was not used, said the group is backing Trump because “he supports our values.”