In 'Fiery' Speech, Walz Blasts Trump and Vance as Enemies of the Working Class

Making his first solo campaign stop since being named as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate last week, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz selected unionized government workers as his audience on Tuesday—sending the message that he is "more than an ally."

The Democratic vice presidential candidate "understands us because he is one of us—a union brother who spent years as a public service worker in his community," said Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). "He embodies the very best of public service—leading with empathy, looking after everyone and leaving behind no one."

Walz, who was a dues-paying member of the National Education Association during his years as a high school teacher, told AFSCME members at the union's 46th international convention in Los Angeles about his strong record of fighting for workers' rights as governor of Minnesota, and said they can count on solidarity from both him and Harris.

"We know that when unions are strong, America is strong," Walz said. "That's why Vice President Harris and I have both joined workers on the picket line."

Walz last year signed into law a legislative package including paid family and medical leave, a prohibition on non-compete clauses, a ban on anti-union captive audience meetings, and a provision allowing teachers to bargain over educator-to-student ratios, among other pro-worker measures.

The governor's comments about captive audience meetings, which employers mandate that workers attend in order to listen to one-sided claims and arguments against unionization, won applause from observers on social media.

With the pro-worker policies passed by his state's Democratic legislature and signed by him in place, said Walz, "Minnesota is one of the best states for workers in the nation. That's our vision for the entire country."

Watch the whole speech below:

Walz also took aim at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), saying they have "waged war on working people."

Vance opposed the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would expand the rights of workers to unionize their workplaces, and voted to strike down an update to the National Labor Relations Board's joint-employer rule, which aimed to give workers more power at companies that use third-party contractors.

Walz's speech came a day after Trump praised Tesla's billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, for firing striking workers in a conversation the two held on X, the social media platform owned by Musk.

Trump's comment that Musk was "the greatest cutter" led the United Auto Workers to file federal charges against both men on Tuesday, with the union saying the remarks amounted to worker intimidation.

"The only thing those two guys know about working people is how to work to take advantage of them," Walz said on Tuesday of Trump and Vance, adding that Trump was a "scab" for supporting so-called "right to work" laws, which allow employees at unionized companies to opt out of paying dues to the union while still benefiting from collective bargaining.

Unlike Trump, said Walz, he and Harris "know exactly who built this country."

"It was nurses, it was teachers, and it was state and local government employees that built this nation," he said. "People in this room built the middle class."