A viral image is circulating online claiming to show family members of Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz wearing shirts endorsing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Trump also reposted the image to his Truth Social page.
Several VERIFY readers, including Judy and Karen, reached out to ask if the image is real.
THE QUESTION
Is the photo of Tim Walz’s family wearing shirts in support of Donald Trump real?
THE SOURCES
- TinEye, a reverse image search tool
- Rod Edwards, Charles W. Herbster’s spokesperson, on behalf of the members of the Walz family in Nebraska
THE ANSWER
Yes, the photo of Tim Walz’s family wearing shirts in support of Donald Trump is real.
WHAT WE FOUND
The photo of members of Tim Walz’s family wearing shirts that say “Nebraska Walz’s for Trump” is real. The people in the photo are distant cousins of the vice presidential candidate.
Tim Walz family photo
VERIFY conducted a reverse image search of the photo using TinEye and found the image was initially shared by Charles W. Herbster on Sept. 4. Herbster ran for governor as a Republican in Nebraska in 2021, and Trump endorsed his campaign.
The members of the Walz family in the picture are close family friends of Herbster’s and allowed him to share the photo, Rod Edwards, Herbster’s spokesperson told VERIFY.
Edwards shared a statement on behalf of the Walz family shown in the photo with VERIFY stating, “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.”
Other AI images
While that viral image of the Walz family is real, there are also other images of supposed members of the Walz family that are generated with artificial intelligence circulating online. One image, shared by a Donald Trump parody account, received millions of views. In it, Trump stands surrounded by people wearing “Walz’s for Trump” shirts. The post’s caption says, “Just met the whole Walzes [sic] family in Nebraska.” There are multiple inconsistencies in that photo that point to it being AI-generated.
For example, one of the women to the right of Trump has too many fingers and a man toward the back is wearing glasses that aren’t sitting properly on his head.
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