Inside The Rocky Relationship Tim Walz Shares With His Brother Jeff

Many siblings would be thrilled to hear that their brother was in the running for vice president, but let's just say Tim Walz does not fall into that category — far from it. In the wake of learning of his brother's possible new gig, Jeff Walz made it very clear that he had zero plans to vote for Tim and Kamala Harris come election day. 

Jeff slammed his brother's candidacy in a since-deleted Facebook thread. He started off by announcing, "I'm 100% opposed to all his ideology," the New York Post reported. He then went on to tell a commenter, who urged him to do some kind of on-stage endorsement of Donald Trump, that he'd toyed with the idea. After all, he claimed somewhat ominously of his brother, "The stories I could tell. Not the type of character you want making decisions about your future." Jeff has since clarified to NewsNation that the character flaw he was referring to was Tim's childhood car sickness, which was so bad that the family teased him about it. "There's really nothing else behind there — people are assuming something else," he said. Gah, people and their assumptions. 

That Jeff was willing to spill that truly monstrous truth of Tim's character might come as a surprise. After all, in response to the plea for him to endorse Trump on a public platform, he said that he didn't want to drag the rest of the Walz family into it. Of course, he already did that by lashing out at Tim. However, we doubt Jeff thought of it that way when he said it. After all, these two have been locked in a sibling feud for close to a decade. 

In his interview with NewsNation, Jeff Walz admitted that at the time he went on his Facebook tirade, he and Tim Walz had not been on speaking terms. More specifically, they hadn't talked in a full eight years. He didn't provide any detail as to why that was the case but shared that they disagreed on things. Well, Jeff said he was against everything Tim believed in on Facebook, so we're not exactly shocked by this beliefs-motivated, Alec and Stephen Baldwin-esque fractured sibling relationship. 

Speaking to the Daily Beast, Jeff and Tim's mom, Darlene Walz, also spoke of the tension between her sons. That said, like Jeff, she opted not to speak about the cause of their rift. What she found worked best, she told the outlet, was to let them sort it out on their own. "I think the best thing maybe, for me, is to just stay out of it," she mused. Darlene shared that her beliefs aligned more with Tim's, though, that she was backing him and Kamala Harris all the way and had even helped Tim campaign for Congress in the past. Nevertheless, Darlene noted that she had a great relationship with Jeff as well — albeit one where they avoided talking politics. 

It does bear mentioning that despite their drama, Jeff has said he wishes things had worked out differently for them. As he told NewsNation, "There was just no contact either way, and it's too bad." Jeff also pointed out that there was no need for animosity between them because "you can disagree and still be civil brothers." It would have been ideal if Jeff felt that way before his Facebook commentary, but we guess you live and learn. 

It is worth bearing in mind that Jeff Walz's Facebook tirade was informed by his own hurt feelings. After all, he revealed to NewsNation that Tim Walz hadn't let him know he was Kamala Harris' running mate, and he was a little salty about it. 

"We felt bad that we found out about his being picked as the vice presidential candidate on the radio on the way back home from a trip," Jeff explained. He said he felt as though he deserved a heads-up — but not just to be involved in Tim's life, mind. Jeff said he and his family thought they were entitled to security in the wake of the announcement. As an aside, only candidates themselves and their immediate families are typically offered Secret Service protection, so — they weren't. 

We'll probably never know just what went down between Jeff and Tim. Especially since Jeff has sworn off any press further than his interview with NewsNation. Jeff also seemed pretty contrite about having started the drama in the first place, telling the outlet he'd just wanted to tell his Facebook friends he wasn't on board with his brother's views but that he knew it was a bad move to do it so publicly. Further, he added that he wouldn't publicly endorse or denounce Tim or anyone else. Baby steps, we guess, but time will tell if Jeff's internet rant ruined his relationship with his politician brother for good.