Election 2024 updates: Walz says he's 'proud' of military record, thanks Vance for his service (2024)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in his first solo campaign appearance, defended his military record and thanked his vice presidential opponent, Sen. JD Vance, for his service.

"I am damn proud of my service to this country," Walz said to applause at the AFSCME convention in California. "And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person's service record. Anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: thank you for your service and sacrifice."

Vance has repeatedly criticized how Walz has talked about his military record, which included 24 years in the Army National Guard before he retired to run for Congress in 2005. Vance served as a combat correspondent for four years in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Read more about Vance's comments and Walz's background here.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday, as he was departing the White House, said he would go to Trump's inauguration in January if he were to win this year's election.

"I have good manners, not like him," Biden told reporters after being asked if he'd attend. Trump did not attend Biden's inauguration in 2021.

Biden also defended his calling Trump "a genuine danger to American security," a comment he made during his CBS News interview over the weekend. Asked whether that contradicted his calls to cool heated political rhetoric, Biden shot back: "That's just a statement. That's a factual statement."

-Fritz Farrow

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West will be allowed on the general election ballot in North Carolina following a judge's ruling that reversed a decision that would have kept him off the ballot in the battleground state.

In a ruling on Monday, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle ordered the North Carolina State Board of Elections to certify Justice for All North Carolina as a political party in the state. That party, started by West's campaign, is nominating him as its candidate in North Carolina and some other states. The board had previously voted to deny certifying the party over concerns about how signatures were gathered for its petition to become a certified party.

Justice for All North Carolina called the decision a "monumental day for our party" but West's campaign still faces headwinds. The Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the FEC alleging that West's campaign received "illegal In-Kind Contributions" from firms it used to collect signatures for ballot access petitions in Arizona and North Carolina -- allegations West has pushed back on.

"We've always said we're going to ensure the third party candidates are playing by the rules, and it's clear his campaign isn't playing by the rules," DNC spokesperson Matt Corridoni told ABC News after the complaint was filed.

-Oren Oppenheim

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday will embark on his first solo Harris-Walz campaign event as Harris' running mate with a stop in Los Angeles for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) international convention.

Walz is set to speak at 3:35 p.m. ET.

Walz emerged as a popular candidate among labor unions during Harris' search for a vice president pick, sources said. AFSCME represents 1.4 million public service members, and the union's president, Lee Saunders, previously released a statement endorsing Harris for president.

Harris will outline her economic policy in a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, her campaign announced, making it her first major policy rollout since jumping into the race.

Harris' speech will detail her plan to "lower costs for middle-class families and take on corporate price-gouging," a campaign official said.

The vice president has heavily focused her stump speech on the economy while on the campaign trail in recent weeks, saying over the weekend she would look to eliminate taxes on tips earned by service workers -- a proposal Trump announced earlier this summer.

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Gabrielle Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie

The historically Black Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., of which Vice President Kamala Harris counts herself a member, started its own political PAC last week, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission posted Monday.

The committee is named Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority PAC, Inc., or AKA 1908 PAC, the filing shows.

Harris has been an AKA since her days as a student at the historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C. Harris on Monday visited the campus, her office confirmed to ABC News, but it’s not clear why she was there.

In July, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Harris spoke at the AKA’s annual Boulé in Dallas, Texas. Since then, as a candidate, she’s also addressed similar national gatherings of two other historically Black sororities, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho.

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

After discussing the assassination attempt made against him in Pennsylvania in July, former President Donald Trump said he's planning a trip back to Butler in October.

"We're going back to Butler; we're gonna go back in October," Trump said, adding, "Butler is a big, great area."

Addressing what he'll say when he returns, Trump told Musk, "I think I'll probably start by saying I was so horribly interrupted."

During his conversation with Musk, former President Donald Trump addressed the assassination attempt made against him during a campaign rally in July.

"It was amazing that I happened to be turned just at that perfect angle," Trump said of the bullet, which grazed his right ear while his head was turned.

During the discussion, Trump mentioned the man who was killed in the shooting, saying, it was a "very sad situation."

"We lost somebody that was firefighter, a great Trumper," Trump said of Corey Comperatore, adding, "He was a just a fantastic family [man] and a fantastic man."

The conversation between former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appears to be delayed, with many X users reporting they cannot access the Spaces conversation.

"This Space is not available," appeared for some users on X.

The conversation was scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET.