A video posted by the campaign includes Trump calling unions 'dues-sucking people'
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EXCLUSIVE: The Biden-Harris campaign is using former President Donald Trump's own words against him in a bid to recapture one major voting block that helped secure his 2016 election victory, as well as boosted him in certain states during the 2020 election.
Union workers, who were largely traditional Democrat voters prior to Trump's rise, were a big factor in pushing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan toward the former president, and are being viewed as major players ahead of the 2024 elections amid the grip of labor disputes and their effects on the economy.
In partnership with the Democratic National Committee, the Biden-Harris campaign on Friday launched the opening salvo in a strategy that it hopes will win back those workers and propel President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to another four-year term.
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Then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden walks with members of Culinary Workers Union Local 226 on a picket line outside of Palms Casino Resort on February 19, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
That first shot appeared in the form of a video on "Biden HQ," the campaign's social media rapid response network, which highlights Trump's past statements about unions, including describing them as "dues-sucking people." The descriptor is one he is known to have used on occasion, including once in 2019 when referring to a firefighters union that endorsed Biden's 2020 campaign.
"[Unions] get their little 5%, they get another 2%, they get another 3%, 4%. Then, all of a sudden, they're making more money than the people that own the company," another audio clip of Trump says in the video, followed by what appears to be him calling wage negotiations a "terrible thing."
"Donald Trump: Anti-union. Anti-worker," the video adds.
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Then-2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, center, walks in the picket line with Culinary Workers Union Local 226 Members outside of the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. (Joe Buglewicz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Biden-Harris campaign Rapid Response Director Ammar Moussa told Fox News Digital that "Donald Trump sees the world from Park Avenue, not an assembly plant floor, and it shows."
"While Trump looks down on workers and gives handouts to big corporations and his rich friends, Joe Biden isn’t just saying that he’ll always have workers’ backs – he’s proving it. After President Biden made history by standing with striking autoworkers, unions have notched historic wins and even non-unionized auto companies are taking note, increasing workers’ wages," Moussa said.
"This is what happens when you have a president who cares about working people: Workers win," he added.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is seen during the UFC 295 event at Madison Square Garden on November 11, 2023 in New York City. (Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
According to Fox News exit poll data from the 2016 presidential election, Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton won union households by eight points. That was a 10-point drop from former President Obama’s total in his 2012 election victory, and the lowest union support for a Democrat in two decades.
In 2020, Fox News exit poll data showed Biden winning back some of that support, garnering 56% of union households to Trump's 42%, but the latter still outperformed in some states. The percentages were the same for voters who said they were union members.
Polls have largely shown a hypothetical rematch between Trump and Biden to be in a dead heat as both face the threat of primary challenges and third-party presidential bids.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
