Tim Walz speaks in LA during first solo appearance as VP candidate, shows support for unions

LOS ANGELES - Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz gave his first solo speech in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday since becoming Kamala Harris' running  mate. Walz gave a roughly 20-minute speech to more than 4,000 delegates from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Minnesota Governor was at their downtown L.A. convention as a guest speaker.

"I happen to be the first union member on a presidential ticket since Ronald Reagan," said Walz.

Walz tried to appeal to the union’s convention as a former teacher and union member himself.

"People in this room built the middle class," said Walz. "In Minnesota we made it easier for workers to form unions.  We strengthened worker protections.  When unions are strong American is strong."

"I’m loving the fact he was an actual union member," said Richard Blakeney, a AFSCME union member. "He’s like one of us. I feel like we’re headed in the right direction."

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"AFSCME stands for the American worker," Walz said, in his speech. "AFSCME stands for what's right."

Comparing the Harris-Walz ticket to the Trump-Vance campaign, Walz blasted former president Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, for what he said was their poor record of support for working-class Americans.

"Donald Trump and JD Vance see the world very differently than we do," he said. "The only thing those guys know about working people is how to take advantage of them."

Vance, Walz said, "is one of four senators who've never cast a vote on a pro-worker bill once."

From there, Walz went to Newport Beach for a fundraiser at the Balboa Bay Club, with ticket prices ranging from $1,000 to $100,000, according to the invitation.

Walz spoke of his time as a congressman representing a mostly Republican district.

"At that time you could actually work across the aisle," he said.

He praised congressional representatives on hand for the reception, including Reps. Mike Levin, D-Dana Point, Katie Porter, D-Irvine, and Nanette Barragan, D-Long Beach, noting they serve in a much  more divided House.

"You're doing yeoman's work," Walz said.

Walz noted that he was called "the most liberal person who's ever lived" while running for governor in Minnesota, but he got behind middle-class tax cuts and a child tax credit that he said would reduce child poverty in the state by one-third.

"Donald Trump doesn't share those values," Walz said.

The governor said Trump "is a threat to democracy, he is a threat to women's health ... but don't give him too much power. No one's asking for the crap he's asking for."

Walz said, "Trump knows nothing about public service. He spends all his time enriching himself, weakening our economy, mocking our laws, sewing chaos and division, and that was even before he became president."

Walz added that when he calls Republicans "weird, ... it's not a name, it's an observation."

Walz said Trump supporters "are family members, those are our neighbors," so, "we need to understand they care about their kids, their future. So let's message to them right."

Walz said the Republican Party "used to have good ideas" and "we worked together, we compromised. But not these guys. ... This obsession with telling women how to run their lives and what their healthcare is -- it's not popular."

Republicans in the past "really did talk about freedom," he said, referring to the Harris campaign theme.

"They were also libertarian," he said, adding how Minnesota decriminalized marijuana, then joking, "We have a hell of a lot of people from North Dakota visiting us now."

The pheasant hunter and trap shooter said, "I fully support the 2nd Amendment, but I also support wanting our kids to be free to go to school, but not get shot dead in the hallway."

Attorney Wylie Aitken, a major fundraiser for Democrats in Orange County who is one of the event's co-hosts, said he has been "blown away by the enthusiasm" for Walz's appearance in Newport Beach.

"I've never had an event, frankly, where there is so much enthusiasm, to the extent where we've sold out and we're telling people we can't help them," Aitken told City News Service. "I've never seen us turn away so much money. ... It's a measure of the enthusiasm for Kamala and her vice president."

The Republican Party of Orange County issued a statement criticizing Walz regarding his record in the Minnesota National Guard. Walz, who served in the National Guard for 24 years, has come under fire from Republican vice presidential nominee Vance, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a combat correspondent from 2003 to 2007, before retiring months before his unit deployed to Iraq.

"It's a slap in the face to Orange County veterans for Tim Walz to fundraise off stolen valor in a community with over 100,000 veterans," the county GOP contended. "He's lied his entire career that he served in combat in Afghanistan when in truth he's never stepped foot on the battlefield.

"When he was called to war, he left his unit to run for Congress. Then he lied again about his rank as `Command Sergeant Major.' When JD Vance was called to Iraq in the Marines, he was the first in. When Tim Walz was called to Iraq in the National Guard, he was the first to run."

Walz, 60, served as a command sergeant major, but officially retired a rank lower because he had not completed some courses required for the higher rank.

Orange County Republican Party Chairman Fred Whitaker added, "As a son of a World War II combat veteran, it's disgusting that Walz would use the sacrifice of our service members for his political gain, especially after he cut and run when called to deploy into Iraq.

"From the Lyon Air Museum and Veterans Memorial in Orange to Heroes Hall in Costa Mesa and Sid Goldstein Freedom Park in Westminster, Orange County honors our veterans. Tim Walz does not belong here and his stolen valor is not welcome in Orange County. He may walk away heavy with campaign cash from liberal donors but he will leave with the same empty and fake record he came in with."

Nick Berardino, president of the Veterans Alliance of Orange County and who served in combat with the Marines in Vietnam, including the Tet Offensive, objected to the criticism.

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"As a combat veteran, we must respect every man and woman who has worn the uniform," Berardino told City News Service. "Our success on the battlefield as well as nationally is based upon a team of heroes that do a thousand different jobs to protect our freedom. On foreign soil and at home."

Berardino said he has heard a lot of different takes on the issue.

"I've heard from many veterans," he said. "There's certainly a variety of opinions. But in the end every veteran like me that has been in combat gets on their knees every day to thank God for all those who are in the rear with the gear supporting us and keeping us as safe as possible."

Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, who will attend the fundraiser, criticized the county Republican Party's statement on Walz.

"As a granddaughter and sister of military veterans who served in combat and on base, it's sad that GOP Chairman Whitaker decided to parrot Trump's lies and smear the countless veterans who serve in essential non-combat roles," Foley said.

"Gov. Walz has a clear record supporting veterans while in the National Guard and during his time in office," Foley added.  "Importantly, as the lead House sponsor for the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, Gov. Walz worked to stem veterans suicide by funding suicide prevention programs, requiring an analysis and report of program effectiveness, and incentives for psychiatrists who agree to join the VA medical system. All helpful for a critically important issue for all veterans, and similar to a program I initiated at the county to close a gap in services here."

Walz responded to the criticisms of his service during his speech Tuesday.

"I’m damn proud of my service to this country," said Walz. "You should never denigrate another person’s service record. Anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I have just a few words for, thank you for service and your sacrifice."

Meanwhile, Newport Beach Mayor Will O'Neill wrote on social media, "As the Mayor of Newport Beach, a City with a 7-0 Republican City Council, I welcome Governor Walz to spend time with our City leadership while he's dipping into some of our residents' pockets.

"We will showcase a city that didn't defund the police, that embraces conservative economic values, that decreases debt and increases quality of life, that did not allow protestors to burn out local businesses, and that cares about human flourishing.

"If Governor Walz is as interested in learning policy from a well-run city as he is in political donations, my door will be open."

The vice presidential hopeful didn’t answer any reporter questions after his speech at the DTLA convention. His trip to Los Angeles kicks off a week of campaign fundraising events across the country.

"You don’t hope to win, you plan, prepare, and work to win," said Walz.  "When we fight, we win."