During her speech, Harris touched on the successes of the Biden Administration – including the CHIPS Act that aimed to bolster electric vehicle production. That drew applause from the scores of union members in the crowd.
Harris also tried to highlight the differences between her campaign and that of former President Donald Trump.
“What kind of country do we want to live in, a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?”
However, when the crowd started chanting “Lock Him Up”… Harris shut that down.
“Here’s the thing, the courts are gonna handle that,” she told the crowd. “We’re gonna beat him in November.”
‘Lock Her Up’ has been a familiar refrain at Trump rallies dating back to his first campaign against Hillary Clinton. Trump is still facing sentencing in New York after being convicted of 34 counts of fraud.
Walz, a former teacher and National Guardsman, criticized Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had the worst crisis of a generation, and he froze during COVID,” he said. “People lost their lives because of that.”
Walz’ strong support from organized labor was reportedly a factor in Harris’ decision to pick him as a running mate.
During his speech at the rally, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain talked about class warfare between workers and the rich, as well as the union’s successes — referencing the union’s strike at General Motors plants five years ago.
”Donald Trump said nothing, and Donald Trump did nothing to help auto workers,” said Fain. “You want to know where Kamala Harris was in 2019? she was on the picket line for striking workers.”
The union had backed President Joe Biden, but held off on endorsing Harris until doing so last week. Fain had pushed the Harris campaign to select Governor Walz, saying the 2024 presidential election was a way for people to strike back against “the billionaire class.”
“This is our generation’s defining moment, and this election is our opportunity to take our lives back,” said Fain. “So Michigan, let’s get to work.”
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer also spoke at the rally on Wednesday, telling the crowd that Walz is “the real deal. He’s the only governor I know who curses more than I do, and I have a feeling that’s about to change.”
Whitmer — who did not make the short list of possible vice president nominees on the Democratic ticket and denied any interest in leaving Michigan — also told rally goers not to put their faith in Trump.
“We cannot trust Donald Trump, and we must make sure he does not get back into the White House,” she said. “I mean, think about it, you wouldn’t buy a used car from this guy. How can you expect him to support the auto industry?”
Sen. J.D. Vance made his own stops in Michigan and Wisconsin on Wednesday, intent on showing that Republicans will compete in the “blue wall” of Midwestern states. He called Walz a “crazy radical” and said that Harris’ decision to pick him as a running mate shows that she “bends the knee to the far left of the Democratic Party.”
Harris and Walz are meeting with more local UAW members in metro Detroit on Thursday.
Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.
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