Did Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff get their orders for free from an Arizona cafe, as implied by a video on X? No, that's not true: A cafe manager told Lead Stories that the group's tab was "paid by phone." Furthermore, in the posted video footage, Walz's daughter, Hope Walz, acknowledged the tab, saying, "Someone will be up here to pay."
The claim appeared in a post shared on X on October 9, 2024, (archived here). The post's caption read:
When President Trump visits a restaurant, he pays for everyone.
When Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff visit a coffee shop, they expect it to be on the house.
Zero respect for the working class.
This is how the post appeared at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken Thu Oct 10 14:29:55 2024 UTC)
At the beginning of the posted video, Emhoff can be seen taking a drink from a salesperson at the counter as Minnesota Gov. Walz, waiting, stands to one side with a plate of food in his hand. The two men then walk into another room without paying.
By stating that "they expect it to be on the house," the post's caption implied that the two men did not pay their bill.
Some X users responded in the post's comments to this implication. For example, one user wrote (archived here) on October 10, 2024:
Do we know if anyone showed up to pay? We need to follow up.
On October 9, 2024, both Forbes and Azcentral.com, the website for The Arizona Republic, a Phoenix-based daily newspaper, filmed and reported on the interaction (archived here). The two news outlets said Walz and Emhoff had been at Otro Cafe (archived here) in Phoenix.
On October 13, 2024, Lead Stories spoke by phone with Otro Cafe Manager Yolanda Lopez, who was working the day of the event. When asked, Lopez said that "someone paid by phone" for the bill. She did not elaborate further.
At the 18-second point in the clip posted on X, Walz's daughter Hope is heard saying, "Thank you so, so much, and someone will be up here to pay ... He's coming."
A pool report sent to Lead Stories on October 9, 2024, described the event:
The caravan made an unannounced stop at 10:15 at Otro Cafe in Phoenix, where Gov Walz and Hope Walz met up with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, his son Cole Emhoff, and Cole's wife (Greenley Littlejohn)...
Mr. Walz was telling the others about his interactions with Ed Helms yesterday in Reno. The staff handed Mr. Walz a plate of pastries, and handed Mr. Emhoff his coffee and a slice of something (the banana bread, maybe?), and they all walked out of the room, leaving Hope Walz to wait for the iced tea. She stood there and looked at the media and said, deadpan: "I feel exposed right now."
Hope Walz is wearing a black t-shirt, loose jeans and Adidas sneakers. She accepted the iced tea, said 'Thank you so much,' and followed the others into another room. Then the pool was escorted out into the vans.
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims about Tim Walz can be found here. Additional Lead Stories fact checks about the 2024 U.S. general election overall can be read here.
