HUNTS POINT, Wash. — Vice Presidential nominee and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz made a very brief visit to Western Washington, arriving Monday night and leaving Tuesday morning.
He will travel along the West Coast on Tuesday.
His visit to the Seattle area caused traffic jams, and he was greeted by protesters outside a fundraising event in Hunts Point -- the reason for his visit.
Nikhil Lonberg was among the demonstrators.
“We’re here to give Governor Tim Walz a not-so-warm welcome!”
It was dark and cold Tuesday at around 6 a.m. when Seattle Police, Washington State Patrol, and the US Secret Service were outside the W Hotel for Walz’s departure. The Westin has been a traditional site for presidents and vice presidents to spend the night in Seattle, but this time, it appeared that things changed.
Lonberg insisted that Walz and the Democrats have a lot to answer for as far as policy.
“We know that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are offering any meaningful solution to the war in the Middle East -- to answer workers on strike, climate crises.”
During the vice presidents’ debate that aired on CBS, Walz made his position clear on Israel.
“Israel’s ability to defend itself is absolutely fundamental, getting its hostages back is fundamental -- and ending the conflict in Gaza. The expansion of Israel and its proxies is absolutely a fundamental necessity for the US.”
For a year since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks inside Israel, activists in Washington and across the country have been calling out Democrats for their positions on the growing conflict in the Middle East. Tuesday morning was no different even as Walz motorcade rumbled by and into Hunts Point.
Walz has stated that Presidential nominee Kamala Harris is the choice for voters that want to preserve American democracy -- “the support of the democracy matters, it matters that you’re here, I’m as surprised as anybody at this coalition that Kamala Harris has built…She’s bringing real solutions for the middle class, and she’s centering you at the heart of that. All the while asking everyone to join this movement.”
For demonstrators, sending a message to Walz was key, even if some of them admit, that Donald Trump’s policy positions are far worse on the topics they care about compared to Walz and Harris.
Lonberg did state that the choices are not great for the 2024 race.
“Donald Trump and JD Vance are horrible, the far-right fascist turn of the Republican party has to be condemned. We are here to say that we deserve more than the lesser of two evils.”