Walz launches 5-state fundraising blitz in LA, warns Trump will wage 'war' on working people

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 kicked off a five-state fundraising swing.

Speaking in a cavernous, dimly lit ballroom to thousands of members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — many dressed in green union T-shirts, and waving Harris-Walz placards — Walz said he and Vice President Kamala Harris want to spread collective bargaining and other worker protections to “every state in the union.”

The 1.4-million-member union has endorsed Harris.

"When unions are strong, America is strong," Walz, a former school teacher and union member, said.

He warned of a grim future for unions if Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance are elected, describing a nation where bargaining rights, overtime pay and other protections would be scuttled. He said Trump and Vance have “waged war on working people.”

“The only thing those two guys know about working people is how to work to take advantage of them,” Walz said.

However, Trump also has courted union support. When he accepted the Republican nomination, he said that he would rescue the auto industry from what he called “complete obliteration.”

The Democratic campaign chose to kick off Walz's national swing on the safest of political terrain — heavily Democratic California, home to Vice President Kamala Harris and where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans about 2-1. The last Republican to win a presidential contest in the state was in 1988, George H.W. Bush, and Republican nominees haven't bothered to seriously contest the state that delivers the largest trove of electoral votes since 2000.

Walz was scheduled to head to a fundraiser in Newport Beach later Tuesday. On Wednesday, he will address fundraisers in Denver and Boston, and then wrap up his trip on Thursday in Newport, Rhode Island, and Southampton, New York.

Walz’s focus on fundraising this week comes after he stormed through a series of battleground states with Harris last week to introduce himself to voters nationally. The two held rallies in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada.

The string of events will showcase Walz in a typical role for a vice presidential nominee, a combination fundraiser and partisan flamethrower.

Introducing himself to voters who probably know little — if anything — about the plainspoken, avuncular governor, Walz echoed remarks he delivered in earlier appearances in Nevada and Arizona following Harris’ announcement that he would join her on the ticket.

Those speeches were built around key themes for Democrats in 2024: support for abortion rights, lifting the middle class and characterizing Trump as “weird” — an attack line Walz has been credited with authoring.

Appearing in front of a union convention, he laced the speech with tributes to working Americans, saying at one point that he's the first union member to appear on a presidential ticket since Republican Ronald Reagan. But unlike the former Democrat Reagan, he promised, “I won't lose my way.”

Walz apparently was unaware Trump also was a member of the Screen Actors Guild before resigning in 2021. But during a discussion about government spending, Trump on Monday praised Tesla CEO Elon Musk for firing workers who went on strike, telling him, “You’re the greatest cutter.”

Walz also defended his military record, which has come under criticism from Republicans. "I am damn proud of my service to this country,” he said, and credited Vance for his time in the military.

Though appearing in California, Walz avoided any mention of the state’s long-running problems, which include a homeless crisis, some of the nation’s steepest taxes and lofty housing prices that have been blamed for sending residents to other states looking for more affordable living.

In a statement, California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said residents “are all too familiar with the ramifications of far-left policies championed by Harris.”

Walz closed by urging union members to make phone calls and knock on doors on behalf of the Democratic ticket, spotlighting the importance organized labor can have on the expected close contest.

Union member Joseph Moore, a Republican from Salem, Oregon, said the speech left him encouraged that Harris and Waltz could stop Trump, whom he blamed for dismantling the Republican Party he once knew while leaving the nation and Congress bitterly divided.

With Harris and Walz on the ballot, he said: “It's the first time that I felt hope we can keep Trump out of office.”

Attendees cheer as they listen to Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speak at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Convention in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz reacts as he speaks at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Convention in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Attendees cheer as they listen to Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speak at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Convention in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Convention in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz acknowledges the cheering crowd after speaking at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Convention in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced Tuesday that his country would send two dozen soldiers and police officers to Haiti this week to boost a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenya to fight violent gangs.

The 20 soldiers and four police officers are scheduled to arrive Thursday and will join nearly 400 Kenyan police who arrived earlier this year and are working alongside Haitian police and military, said Vice Admiral Antonette Wemyss-Gorman, chief of defense staff for Jamaica’s military.

The Jamaicans will be responsible for providing command, planning and logistics support, Holness said at a news conference.

Jamaica had pledged a total of 170 soldiers and 30 police officers, but Holness said it wasn’t possible to deploy them all at once.

“It’s not practical,” he said, adding that facilities to host those arriving and a command structure need to be in place before the full number pledged is deployed. “We want a very successful operation.”

The initial number of police and soldiers announced by Holness surprised many and comes at a time when the U.S. government has warned that the Kenyan-led mission lacks money and personnel as it considers a U.N. peacekeeping mission as one way to secure more resources.

In recent days, the U.N. and Ecuador circulated a draft resolution obtained by The Associated Press asking the U.N. to start planning for a U.N. peacekeeping operation to replace the current mission. Such a proposal would have to be decided by the U.N. Security Council, which experts do not believe would approve it.

On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said “it’s very strange” that there is apparently no money available to support the Kenyan-led mission.

“I think countries should assume responsibilities and should come and provide the necessary funding,” he said.

Holness did not comment on the possibility of a U.N. peacekeeping mission but said the current mission “can be a long and extended process.”

He added that the mission is not the only or final solution to problems in Haiti, where gangs control 80% of the capital of Port-au-Prince.

The violence has spread to other areas across the country, with more than 3,200 killed from January to May, according to the U.N. The ongoing violence also has left more than half a million people homeless in recent years.

“Haiti is the example of what could happen if states and governments do not take the problem seriously and put in place the measures and resources necessary to bring the problem under control,” Holness said.

Overall, the mission is expected to have a total of 2,500 personnel, with the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad also pledging to send police and soldiers, although it wasn’t clear when that would happen.

On Saturday, the Bahamas' foreign affairs minister, Fred Mitchell, told reporters that while the government hasn't wavered in its pledge, it's unclear when it'll deploy troops to Haiti given that the mission's dynamics have changed.

“One of the things the Bahamas has to consider is the new position of the U.S.,” he said.

The mission is expected to cost roughly $600 million a year, although the U.N. has received only $68 million out of $85 million pledged so far. The U.S. and Canada have provided the majority of funds for now.

Police officers patrol a street near the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

People walk down a street covered with trash in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Kenyan police officers, part of a UN-backed multinational, work to tow away a broken down armored car during an operation in the Delmas neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

The commander of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission Godfrey Otunge, right, and the Haitian National Police general director Rameau Normil chat as they await the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/Pool photo via AP)

A Kenyan member of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission stands next to an armored vehicle moments before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrival for a meeting at the base in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/Pool photo via AP)

A Kenyan member of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission stands next to a Haitian police vehicle donated by the U.S. government and damaged by bullet hits during patrols, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/Pool photo via AP)