Harris and Walz say they're 'joyful warriors,' narrowly avoid confrontation with Vance on tarmac

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris declared herself and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, “joyful warriors" against Donald Trump on Wednesday as they spent their first full day campaigning together across the Midwest. They got an unusual glimpse of how hotly contested the region would be when they overlapped on a Wisconsin tarmac with Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance.

The Democrats visited Wisconsin and Michigan, hoping to shore up support among the younger, diverse, labor-friendly voters who were instrumental in helping President Joe Biden win the 2020 election.

Harris told the day's first rally in Eau Claire, "As Tim Walz likes to point out, we are joyful warriors.” Contributing to that feeling, the Harris campaign said it had raised $36 million in the first 24 hours after she announced Walz as her running mate.

The vice president said the pair looks at the future with optimism, unlike Trump, the former president and Republican White House nominee, whom she accused of being stuck in the past and preferring a confrontational style of politics — even as she criticized her opponent herself.

“Someone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the United States should never again have the chance to sit behind the seal of the United States," Harris said, her voice rising.

Dan Miller, from Pelican Lake, Wisconsin, who was among 12,000-plus Eau Claire rally attendees, said Biden “has been an incredible president, but he just isn’t the same messenger.”

"And sometimes you need a better messenger,” Miller said. “And that’s Kamala.”

Later, at an evening event in an airport hangar outside Detroit where the campaign announced a crowd of 15,000, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — herself frequently mentioned as a future presidential candidate — declared, “We need a strong woman in the White House and it’s about damn time.”

“This election’s going to be a fight,” Harris told the same event. "We like a good fight.”

The swing was especially important for Harris since Biden's winning coalition from four years ago has shown signs of fraying over the summer — particularly in Michigan, which has emerged as a focal point of Democratic divisions over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

With the president now out of the race, leaders of the Arab American community and key unions say they are encouraged by Harris' running mate choice. Walz’s addition to the ticket has soothed some tensions, signaling to some leaders that Harris had heard concerns about another leading contender for the vice presidential slot, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who they felt had gone too far in his support for Israel.

“The party is recognizing that there’s a coalition they have to rebuild,” said Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of the heavily Arab American community of Dearborn, Michigan. “Picking Walz is another sign of good faith.”

Lingering dissensions were nonetheless on display during Harris’ Michigan speech, when she was interrupted by protesters opposing Israel's fighting with Hamas. At first, Harris said to those trying to disrupt her, “I am here because I believe in democracy and everybody’s voice matters.”

That was a response similar to Biden's, who often said when interrupted at his rallies that protesters should be allowed to speak before being removed by security. Harris, however, then quickly pivoted to a tougher tack, continuing, “But I am speaking now.” That sparked cheers from most of the audience.

“If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that,” the vice president continued over the protesters. “Otherwise, I’m speaking.”

Those demonstrating were eventually led away, but not before a tense confrontation between Harris supporters and protesters who screamed at one another.

Trump, meanwhile, has emphasized appealing to Midwestern voters with his choice of Vance, an Ohio senator, as his running mate. Vance bracketed the Harris-Walz ticket with Michigan and Wisconsin appearances of his own Wednesday.

He overlapped enough that while Harris was still greeting a group of Girl Scouts who came to see her arrive at Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Wisconsin, Vance’s campaign plane landed nearby and was taxiing in the distance. Harris posed for a group picture with the girls around the same time Vance was deplaning, and he began walking over to Air Force Two, trailed by his security detail.

The vice president eventually climbed into her motorcade, and it pulled away before they could interact. Still, that the pair came so close to doing so was unusual given the carefully scripted nature of campaign schedules.

“I just wanted to check out my future plane,” Vance later told reporters, meaning that he’d travel on Air Force Two should he and Trump be elected in November. He also criticized Harris for not holding press conferences since she became a presidential candidate.

“If those people want to call me weird I call it a badge of honor,” Vance said, responding to a moniker Walz used to describe him that made the Minnesota governor notable online in the days before Harris tapped him as her running mate.

Walz had some critical words for Vance in both Wisconsin and Michigan but trained most of his sharpest words on Trump, saying the former president “mocks our laws, he sows chaos and division amongst the people and that’s to say nothing of the job he did as president.”

Walz also stressed that he and Harris are promoting neighborliness and common community, even suggesting that his state's football fans were happy for Detroit's long-underperforming NFL team when it nearly made the most recent Super Bowl: “Vikings fans are proud of the Lions.”

The momentum could be pivotal in Detroit, which is nearly 80% Black, where leaders for months had warned administration officials that voter apathy could cost them in a city that's typically a stronghold for their party.

Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the NAACP Detroit branch, said the excitement in the city now is “mind-blowing.” He likened it to Barack Obama's first presidential run in 2008, when voters waited in long lines to help elect the nation's first Black president.

Some Democratic leaders in Michigan had grown concerned that choosing the wrong running mate could slow that momentum, however, and fracture a coalition that has only recently started to unify.

Arab American leaders, who hold significant influence in Michigan due to a large presence in metro Detroit, had been vocal in their opposition to Shapiro due to his past comments regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Those leaders specifically pointed to a comment he made earlier this year regarding protests on university campuses, which they felt unfairly compared the actions of student protesters to those of white supremacists. Shapiro, who is Jewish, has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while remaining a staunch supporter of Israel.

Osama Siblani, the publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News and a prominent leader in Michigan’s large Muslim community, was among those who met with White House adviser Tom Perez in Michigan last week. Perez has maintained contact with some Dearborn leaders since he and other top officials traveled there with Biden to mend ties with the community.

Siblani said he met with Perez for over an hour on July 29 and told him that if Harris chose Shapiro, it would “shut down” future conversations.

“Not picking Shapiro is a very good step. It cracks the door open a little more for us,” Siblani said.

Cappelletti reported from Michigan. Associated Press writers Mark Vancleave, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Tom Krisher in Detroit, Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan, and Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.

Air Force Two with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz aboard arrive for a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz talk before they board Air Force Two at Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wis. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrives to speak at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich., before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Supporters cheer as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrive at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich., before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Supporters cheer as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrive at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrives to speak at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich., before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris is welcomed by Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, before she delivers remarks at a campaign event, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wisc. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pose for a photo after arriving at Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wis. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz greet children at Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wis. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrives at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wis. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

A supporter waits for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wis. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich., with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich., with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, center, talking to a group of young girls after disembarking from Air Force Two at Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, Wednesday, August 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, WI. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris is welcomed by Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, before she delivers remarks at a campaign event, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wisc. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks at a campaign event at Shelby Township Police Department, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Shelby Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks at a campaign event at Shelby Township Police Department, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Shelby Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrive at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speak at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speak at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speak at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.

Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he has been living in Germany for two decades. He was arrested on site after plowing a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with holiday shoppers Friday evening, killing at least five people and wounding about 200 others.

Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.

Taleb’s X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He also described himself as a former Muslim.

He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”

He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.

Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists — that really wasn’t on my radar."

On Saturday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters: “At this point, we can only say for sure that the perpetrator was evidently Islamophobic – we can confirm that. Everything else is a matter for further investigation and we have to wait.”

An image taken from a video shows police officers arresting a suspect after car drove into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (TNN/DPA via AP)

A person stands by flowers and candles placed outside St. John's Church near a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)