Walz Slams Trump’s McDonald’s Stop, Musk’s $1M Stunt: ‘Have No Plan’

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz appeared on The View, condemning former President Donald Trump for his lack of a clear plan for the middle class and denouncing Elon Musk’s support for Trump.

The Minnesota governor said both he and Vice President Kamala Harris grew up in middle-class families and Harris “actually worked at a McDonald’s,” unlike the former president.

Trump visited a McDonald’s during a campaign stop in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, where he learned how to make fries and operate the drive-thru at a branch in Feasterville-Trevose, Bucks County on Sunday.

“She didn’t pander and disrespect McDonald’s workers by standing there in your red tie and take a picture,” Walz said during Monday’s episode.

Walz continued, “His policies are the ones that undermine those very workers that were in that McDonald’s, whether it’s home ownership, health care, reproductive rights, or cost of products. So there’s more work to be done. But just to be very clear, nothing Donald Trump is proposing does anything about the middle class.”

Walz criticized Elon Musk for endorsing Trump and allegedly offering money to people who sign his petition.

Musk has already committed at least $70 million to support the former president. He now pledges to give away $1 million a day to voters who sign his political action committee’s petition in support of the Constitution.

The giveaway is raising questions and alarms among some election experts who say it is a violation of the law to link a cash handout to signing a petition that also requires a person to be registered to vote.

“I think that’s what you do when you have no plan for the public, when you have no economic plan that’s going to benefit the middle class, when you have no plan to protect reproductive rights, when you have no plan to address climate change and produce American energy, you go to these types of tactics,” Walz said.

Walz also addressed the same question posed to Harris about what changes they would make to the Biden administration.

“This expansion on Medicare is something that I wish would have been proposed sooner,” Walz said. “My mom wants to stay in her home, and the ability that Medicare would pay for her care in home is absolutely a game changer.”

He said, as a member of the “sandwich generation” with a nearly 90-year-old mother, he understands her desire to avoid moving into a nursing home.

During Harris’ visit to The View, she outlined key policy plans to alleviate financial burdens on middle-class families, emphasizing her commitment to expanding Medicare. She aimed to spotlight the challenges faced by the “sandwich generation.”

This demographic, nearly a quarter of the U.S. population, is made up of adults juggling the demands of raising children while also caring for aging parents. According to her campaign data, this group includes a significant portion of undecided voters.

Walz talked about how Harris differs from President Joe Biden, stating, “She’s her own leader. She’s got her own path, a new way forward, and I think she sees in Minnesota that we have similar values.”

While discussing Harris’ plans for the presidency, the Minnesota governor acknowledged Trump has no clear plan except to “run up the national debt, provide tax cuts to billionaires and undermine women’s ability to make their own health care decisions.”

This follows Harris and Biden’s debut on The View, while Trump and his running mate Ohio Senator JD Vance, have not yet appeared on the show during the 2024 presidential race.

The election is only 15 days away, featuring a tight race between Harris and Trump.

Walz said Harris believes it is essential to earn the votes of all constituents, rather than assuming men or women will automatically support them.

“I hear oftentimes about the black community,” Walz said. “Why would we assume that they were with us, unless we’re putting out proposals that positively impact their life? And I think what you’re seeing in these final days, it is going to be close, but this is where people are making up their mind. And it’s very clear that Donald Trump is spiraling down.”

Who is Tim Walz?

Harris chose Walz, the folksy governor of Minnesota, to be her running mate in August. Walz emerged as a surprise contender. He wasn’t typically viewed as one of the frontrunners—especially since Minnesota is a relatively solid blue state.

Walz’s national profile started to rise only recently, after he became the first Democrat to publicly label Trump and Vance, as “weird“—a narrative that went viral and has since been seized upon by Democrats.

He addressed his comment on The View, emphasizing, as a former school teacher, he is mindful of not engaging in bullying behavior.

“I was making an observation about these guys’ behavior,” Walz said. “Why are you focusing on other people’s family? Why are you focusing on reproductive rights? Why is it this constant tearing people down? And I said, that’s just not normal behavior for folks.”

The vice presidential nominee is in his second term as governor and has earned recognition for his progressive policies while appealing to rural voters in conservative strongholds.

A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), he previously represented Minnesota’s 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019. Walz is known for his progressive policies on issues such as healthcare, education, and climate change, while also maintaining a strong connection with rural voters. Prior to his political career, he served in the U.S. Army National Guard and worked as a high school teacher.

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