The battle for labor unions’ support in the presidential race wages on as the leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters reportedly seeks a platform at the Democrat and Republican national conventions this summer.
The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan reported Monday that Teamster President Sean O’Brien has requested to speak at both nominating events. This is a promising sign for former President Donald Trump and a worrying sign for President Joe Biden, given that the union has regularly endorsed Democrats for president dating back decades, according to the outlet.
Most recently, the Teamsters formally endorsed Biden in 2020 after backing twice-failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016.
An endorsement from the labor union would obviously be momentous for Trump, but Haberman and Swan note O’Brien potentially refraining from endorsing in the race would benefit the presumptive GOP nominee to a lesser degree, as would the mere optics of having O’Brien at the convention.
Sources in Trump’s orbit indicated he and O’Brien share a budding relationship, per the report. The article also highlights a meeting they shared at Trump’s luxurious Mar-a-Lago resort ahead of the Iowa Caucuses:
Mr. O’Brien had a private meeting with Mr. Trump at the beginning of the year at Mar-a-Lago, shortly before the Iowa caucuses that the former president won handily, setting him on a path to become his party’s nominee for a third time.
The following month, the Teamsters gave $45,000 to both the Republican and Democratic convention funds, with officials saying the goal was to make sure its rank-and-file members are heard at the convention.
O’Brien’s approach contrasts substantially with that of the president of the United Auto Workers, Shawn Fain, who endorsed Biden in January despite a lack of support for the president among his own members.
“Look, let me be clear about this. A great majority of our members will not vote for President Biden. Yes, some will. But that’s the reality of this,” Fain admitted to Fox News’s Neil Cavuto immediately after the endorsement.
Fain supports Biden despite concerns that his administration’s electric vehicle policies could upend the American auto industry, as Breitbart News noted.
