During a Sept. 21 campaign event in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz claimed President Ronald Reagan was “the last union member on a national ticket.”

Verdict: False

Former President Donald Trump was a member of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union until he resigned from the union in 2021.

Fact Check:

Walz and Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance will participate in the only scheduled vice presidential debate of the 2024 campaign season hosted by CBS News next week in New York, according to The New York Times.

During the Sept. 21 campaign rally, Walz claimed Reagan was “the last union member on a national ticket.”

The claim is false. Trump was a member of the SAG-AFTRA union until he announced his resignation from the union in a February 2021 letter addressed to then-SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris.

According to the same letter, the union’s Disciplinary Committee was set to hold a hearing on whether or not they would revoke his membership following the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump cited multiple movie and television appearances in the letter, including “Home Alone 2,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” and “The Apprentice.” (RELATED: Fact-Checking Donald Trump’s Claim That Kamala Harris Wants To Bring Back The Military Draft)

In April 2023, The Hollywood Reporter indicated Trump was still collecting his “6-figure SAG and AFTRA pensions” despite resigning from the union. Trump received a pension between $100,000 and $1 million from SAG in 2022 and a pension between $15,000 and $50,000 from AFTRA, the outlet stated, citing financial disclosure forms for his 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump earned his SAG pension in 1992 for his appearance in “Home Alone 2,” while he earned his AFTRA pension a few years earlier in 1989 for his appearance in “Ghosts Can’t Do It.” The former Republican President and 2024 presidential nominee’s pensions predated the SAG-AFTRA merger that occurred in 2012, according to the outlet.

Likewise, in September 2024, PolitiFact reported Walz’s claim was false, stating Trump was a SAG-AFTRA union member until he resigned. According to PolitiFact, Trump joined the SAG union in 1989, years before it had merged with AFTRA in 2012.

Reagan was involved with the SAG union as well. The actor turned Republican President served as a Board alternate before being elected third Vice President and eventually President, according to his official bio via SAG-AFTRA’s website.

Reagan served seven terms as the union’s president, according to the same bio, and led actor strikes, The Washington Post reported. Reagan was SAG president the last time actors and writers simultaneously went on strike, Town & Country Magazine indicated in July 2023.

Walz was also a union member at one time. Walz, a former high school teacher, was a member of the National Education Association, the Los Angeles Times reported. Walz touted his union background and said he was “the first union member on a presidential ticket since Ronald Reagan” during his first solo campaign event back in August, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Check Your Fact has contacted Walz and Trump spokespersons for comment.