Tim Walz Claims His Mother Relies on Social Security Checks to Afford Food, But Questions Arise
Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz recently stated that his 90-year-old mother depends on her Social Security checks to make ends meet.
“We are all products of our past. When you grow up a middle-class kid in Oakland or in Butte, Nebraska, you care about Social Security,” Walz remarked, as reported by Fox News. He emphasized that his mother, now 90, relies on the benefits to survive.
“When my mom waits for that Social Security deposit to show up in her bank account, that’s how she’s able to feed herself. That’s how she gets things done,” Walz explained.
He also criticized former President Donald Trump, claiming Trump “doesn’t give a damn if his Social Security check comes or not.”
Walz, who has served six terms in Congress and has been governor of Minnesota since 2019, is reported by Forbes to have a net worth exceeding $1 million. Additionally, Walz and his wife are said to possess four defined-benefit pensions valued at around $1 million.
🔥🚨DEVELOPING: Governor Tim Walz is facing a massive amount of backlash for claiming his 90-year-old mother waits for her social security check every month in order to eat and survive. Tim Walz has a reported net worth of $1M which has led to liberal and conservative criticism pic.twitter.com/mLOoL7WLKH
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) October 18, 2024
His salary as governor is approximately $127,000 annually, according to Time.
The Washington Post has previously highlighted Walz’s references to his mother, including when he discussed the financial strain caused by his father’s death from cancer at age 54. He has said that the medical debt incurred during his father's final week was so substantial that it forced his mother “a decade of having to go back to work” at a nursing home.
During his speech at the Democratic National Convention, Walz also expressed gratitude for Social Security survivor benefits: “Thank God for Social Security survivor benefits.”
The Post reported that no response was given from Walz’s campaign when asked whether his father, James Walz, a school administrator, had life insurance.
According to Town and Country, Darlene Walz, originally from Butte, Nebraska, still resides there. In August, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune mentioned that Walz’s mother “occasionally visits him at the Capitol.”
People magazine also noted that Darlene Walz traveled to Chicago in August to attend the Democratic National Convention, where she reflected on the experience: “Oh man, that was a blast,” she said. “It was wonderful.”