LOS ANGELES (AP) — In his first solo appearance as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz warned cheering union members Tuesday that Donald Trump would wage war on working people and threaten Medicare and Social Security as he launched a fundraising campaign in five states.
Speaking in a large, dimly lit ballroom before thousands of members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — many wearing green union T-shirts and waving Harris-Walz placards — Walz said he and Vice President Kamala Harris want to extend collective bargaining and other worker protections to “every state in the union.”
The 1.4 million-member union supports Harris.
“When unions are strong, America is strong,” said Walz, a former teacher and union member.
He warned of a grim future for unions if Trump and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance are elected, describing a country where bargaining rights, overtime pay and other protections would be gutted. He said Trump and Vance “have waged war on working people.”
“The only thing those two guys know about working people is how to take advantage of them,” Walz said.
Trump has also sought the support of unions, however. When he accepted the Republican nomination, he said he would save the auto industry from what he called “complete destruction.”
The Democratic campaign chose to launch Walz’s national swing in the safest political terrain: heavily Democratic California, home to Vice President Kamala Harris and where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 2 to 1. The last Republican to win a presidential election in the state was George H.W. Bush, in 1988, and Republican nominees have not bothered to seriously contest the state that has delivered the largest trove of electoral votes since 2000.
Walz was scheduled to attend a fundraiser in Newport Beach later Tuesday. He will address fundraisers in Denver and Boston on Wednesday, and conclude his trip in Newport, Rhode Island, and Southampton, New York, on Thursday.
Walz’s focus on fundraising this week comes after he stormed through a series of swing states with Harris last week to introduce themselves to voters across the country. The two held rallies in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada.
During the series of events, Walz will be seen in a role typical of a vice presidential candidate: a combination fundraiser and partisan flamethrower.
Walz introduced himself to voters who likely know little to nothing about the down-to-earth, uncle-like governor, repeating comments he made earlier in Nevada and Arizona after Harris announced he would join her on the ballot.
Those speeches were built around key themes for Democrats in 2024: supporting abortion rights, boosting the middle class and characterizing Trump as “weird” — a line of attack Walz is credited with authoring.
Appearing before a union convention, he peppered his speech with tributes to working Americans, saying at one point that he was the first union member to run for president since Republican Ronald Reagan. But unlike 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 he left office in 2021. But during a discussion about government spending on Monday, Trump praised Tesla CEO Elon Musk for firing workers who had gone on strike, telling him, “You’re the best cutter.”
Walz also defended his military record, which has been criticized by Republicans. “I’m damn proud of my service to this country,” he said, and he praised Vance for his time in the military.
Although Walz was performing in California, he avoided any mention of the state’s longstanding problems, including a homeless crisis, some of the nation’s highest taxes and skyrocketing housing prices, which have reportedly driven residents to other states in search of more affordable housing.
In a statement, California Republican Party Chair Jessica Millan Patterson said residents are “all too familiar with the consequences of the far-left policies advocated by Harris.”
