LOS ANGELES (AP) — In his first solo appearance as the Democratic nominee for vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz warned cheering union members Tuesday that Donald Trump would declare war on working people and threaten Medicare and Social Security as he launched a five-state fundraising tour.
Speaking in a massive, dimly lit ballroom before thousands of members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees – many wearing green union T-shirts and carrying Harris-Waltz signs – Walz said he and Vice President Kamala Harris wanted to extend collective bargaining and other worker protections to “every state in the union.”
The union, which has 1.4 million members, supports Harris.
“When unions are strong, America is strong,” said Walz, a former teacher and union member.
He warned of a bleak future for unions if Trump and Ohio Senator JD Vance were elected, describing a country where collective bargaining rights, overtime pay and other protections would be eliminated. He said Trump and Vance had “waged war on working people.”
“The only thing these two guys know about working people is how to take advantage of them,” Walz said.
But Trump has also courted the support of unions. When he accepted the Republican nomination, he said he would save the auto industry from what he called “total annihilation.”
The Democratic campaign chose to launch Walz’s statewide campaign in the safest political terrain – heavily Democratic California, home of Vice President Kamala Harris and where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 2:1. The last Republican to win a presidential election in the state was George HW Bush in 1988, and Republican candidates have not bothered to make a solemn bid in the state that delivers the most electoral votes since 2000.
Walz was scheduled to leave for a fundraiser in Newport Beach later Tuesday. He will speak at fundraisers in Denver and Boston on Wednesday and will end his trip in Newport, Rhode Island, and Southampton, New York, on Thursday.
Walz’s fundraising focus this week comes after he and Harris stormed through a series of swing states last week to introduce themselves to voters nationally. The two held rallies in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada.
As the chain of events progresses, Walz will be seen in a typical role for a vice presidential candidate: a combination fundraiser and partisan flamethrower.
Walz introduced himself to voters who likely know little – if anything – about the outspoken, avuncular governor, repeating remarks he made in previous appearances in Nevada and Arizona after Harris announced he would join her on the ballot.
These speeches revolved around key issues for Democrats in 2024: supporting abortion rights, strengthening the middle class and characterizing Trump as “weird” – a line of attack attributed to Walz.
When he addressed a union convention, he peppered his speech with praise for working Americans and once said he was the first union leader since Republican Ronald Reagan to run for president. But unlike the former Democrat Reagan, he promised, “I will not lose my way.”
Walz was apparently unaware that Trump was also a member of the Screen Actors Guild before his resignation in 2021. But during a discussion on government spending on Monday, Trump praised Tesla CEO Elon Musk for firing striking workers, telling him, “You are the biggest cut-throat official.”
Walz also defended his military career, which has been criticized by Republicans. “I’m damn proud of my service to this country,” he said, acknowledging Vance’s contributions to his time in the military.
Although he was speaking in California, Walz avoided any mention of the state’s long-standing problems, including the homeless crisis, some of the highest taxes in the country and high housing prices that are blamed for causing residents to migrate to other states in search of cheaper housing.
Jessica Millan Patterson, chairwoman of the California Republican Party, said in a statement that residents are “all too familiar with the impact of the radical left policies advocated by Harris.”
In closing, Walz urged union members to call and knock on doors on behalf of Democrats, emphasizing the importance unions can have in what is expected to be a close election campaign.
Union Rep. Joseph Moore, a Republican from Salem, Ore., said the speech strengthened his belief that Harris and Waltz could stop Trump. He blamed Trump for destroying the Republican Party he once knew while deeply dividing the nation and Congress.
With Harris and Walz on the ballot, he said, “For the first time, I have hope that we can keep Trump out of office.”
