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Election 2024 updates: Split-screen campaign blitz kicks off in Wisconsin, Michigan

Harris, Walz and Vance are set to campaign in battleground states on Wednesday.

Last Updated: August 7, 2024, 5:34 PM EDT

Fresh off a newly minted Democratic ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are set to go on tour, hitting several battleground states in five days -- alongside them and mirroring their schedule state by state is Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance.

On Monday, Harris introduced Walz to a fired-up crowd in Philadelphia; Vance was also in Pennsylvania on Monday. The candidates will campaign next in Wisconsin and Michigan.

10 hours and 49 minutes ago

'I know bullies,' Walz says as he, Harris tout campaign in Wisconsin rally

At their second joint rally since becoming a ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday ripped former President Donald Trump and sought to project a positive vision for their potential administration.

"Understand in this fight, as Tim Walz likes to point out, we are joyful warriors,” Harris told the crowd in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

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, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wisc.
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Walz contrasted the approach with that of former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, saying that as a former teacher, he understands "bullies."

"What I am is a teacher, I observe things. So, I want to tell you what I observed and you've observed ... about these guys when you see them, that it's a very clear thing. Yes, they are creepy and weird as hell. You see it," he said. "This is not normal. This is not normal behavior. Nobody's asking for this crazy stuff."

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

Walz, who joined the Army Reserve as a teenager, knocked Trump for having "no understanding of service."

"I'll tell you what, Donald Trump, he sees the world differently than we see it. He has no understanding of service because he's too busy servicing himself again and again and again," he said. "This guy weakens our country to strengthen his own hands."

-ABC News' Will McDuffie, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Isabella Murray

4:59 PM EDT

Harris HQ posts TikTok after Vance's plane, Air Force Two on same tarmac

The Harris-Walz campaign posted a video on its TikTok account responding to earlier in the day when Sen. JD Vance's plane and Air Force Two were on the same tarmac in Wisconsin.

The post used sound from the show "Dance Moms" where instructor and choreographer Abby Lee Miller says, "I just want to sit back and relax and enjoy my evening. When all of a sudden, I hear this agitating, grating voice."

The video shows the vice president stepping off Air Force Two with Gov. Tim Walz while shaking hands and speaking with local children before panning to Vance's plane as it pulled up on the tarmac.

-ABC News Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie

4:54 PM EDT

Trump previously told Walz he was 'very happy' with his handling of George Floyd protests

In the hours after Vice President Kamala Harris announced Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, allies of former President Donald Trump rushed to denigrate the Minnesota Democrat, seizing on criticism of his handling of the riots in the wake of George Floyd's murder in May 2020.

But at the time, Trump expressed support for Walz's handling of the protests, according to a recording of a phone call obtained by ABC News -- telling a group of governors that Walz "dominated," and praising his leadership as an example for other states to follow.

"I know Gov. Walz is on the phone, and we spoke, and I fully agree with the way he handled it the last couple of days," Trump told a group of governors on June 1, 2020, according to a recording of the call, in which he also called Walz an "excellent guy."

"I was very happy with the last couple of days, Tim," Trump continued. "You called up big numbers and the big numbers knocked them out so fast it was like bowling pins."

Trump also suggested on the call that it was his encouragement that sparked Walz to call in the National Guard: "I said, you got to use the National Guard in big numbers," Trump said. A spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign said Wednesday that was untrue.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, said Trump lauded Walz only after the governor heeded his advice to enlist support from the National Guard.

-ABC News' Lucien Bruggeman and Katherine Faulders

4:12 PM EDT

Harris, Vance planes on same tarmac at same time in Wisconsin

A rare moment took place Wednesday when the respective planes flying Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. JD Vance to separate campaign events in Wisconsin were on the same tarmac.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, walks back from looking at Air Force Two at Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wis.
Alex Brandon/AP

Vance took the opportunity to rib the Harris-Walz campaign when he walked over to Air Force Two to "check out" what he called his "future plane."

Vance said he saw Harris' car, but he didn't see her because her windows were tinted.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie