Hope Walz, daughter of Minnesota governor and 2024 vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, used TikTok this weekend to denounce President Trump for what she says has become a wave of harassment against her family. Her message was unfiltered, angry, and unmistakably personal: the slur Trump used against her father is now being thrown at her younger brother, who has a nonverbal learning disorder.
In a now-deleted video first reported by Mediaite, the 24-year-old said the president’s language triggered a “storm” of abuse online and in real life. She said she can tolerate insults aimed at her or her parents, but her brother is off-limits. Last summer, he endured the same slur from online bullies. Now, she said, Trump’s attack has brought the word roaring back.
Jun 12, 2025; Washington, DC, USA; Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), left, alongside Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL), right, and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), not shown, testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on state immigration enforcement policy in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 2025. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY
Hope Walz also accused some Trump supporters of driving past the family home and shouting the slur at them, turning a political insult into a form of intimidation. She called the behavior a product of a “cult” environment that rewards cruelty and punishes vulnerability.
In a separate video that remains online, Walz shifted her focus to the Trump family itself. She said she felt “sad” that they relied on tearing down others to elevate themselves, insisting that her own family’s sense of worth comes from refusing to participate in that cycle of degradation.
The uproar began last month when President Trump called Gov. Walz “seriously [expletive]” during an attack on the state and its Somali-American residents. The remark drew immediate condemnation, including from disability advocates and educators familiar with the harm the term carries. Trump has since doubled down, telling reporters he believes “something is wrong” with the governor.
Tim Walz himself said the comment was evidence of the president’s “cruelness” and a reminder of how degrading language can destabilize children who grow up hearing it. The former teacher said Trump has normalized behavior once considered beyond the pale, using insult as a political tactic and expecting the country to adjust.
Throughout the campaign, figures in the MAGA movement have targeted the Walz family, particularly the governor’s son, who became the focus of right-wing mockery after he tearfully defended his father during the Democratic convention. For Hope Walz, the president’s slur has now opened the door for another round of attacks—one she is determined to confront publicly.
