Trump makes misleading claim he might get Teamster endorsement
Trump is unable to compete with President Biden's pro-labor record. He made history by walking the picket line with UAW strikers last year. | Evan Vucci/AP

WASHINGTON—Donald Trump, criminally indicted and rapist front-runner for the Republican 2024 presidential nod, is claiming the Teamsters might endorse his 2024 presidential run.

The claim, for which he provided no evidence at a press conference he held this week, was made after he met with a committee of union leaders and rank-and-file members of the Teamsters.

The Teamster meeting with Trump followed meetings they had or are planning to have with numerous other candidates including Marianne Williamson and Nikki Haley. They have also asked President Biden for a meeting.

A long-time Teamster activist and leader reminded People’s World that Trump uses press conferences and media events to campaign and that this latest claim at the press conference is another of such attempts to get free TV campaign time and, in this case, mislead people into believing he “might” get a Teamster endorsement.

Several Teamster local leaders and even some on the executive board note that it will be difficult for Trump to check all the boxes he has to check in order to get an endorsement from the union. Issues they cited that Trump will fall short on include raising wages, beefing up the National Labor Relations Board, and supporting the Pro Act which overhauls U.S. labor law to make it fair to workers trying to organize a union.

These shortcomings regarding Trump increase the likelihood, of course, that he will not get the Teamster endorsement. The Teamsters backed Biden last time and the powerful Auto Workers have endorsed him in this election. In addition, there is a vocal set of complaints from Teamsters about Trump’s abysmal labor record growing on social media.

“Union man for 56 years”

“I am a union man of 56 years,” tweeted Ralph Palmieri. “In years past the union has supported Republicans and Democrats… To think the Teamsters would support Trump is laughable. Take a look at the numbers of the Teamsters driving trucks now who are minorities. They don’t have anything in common with the Trump and his minions.”.

“I’m a retired Teamster in good standing,” Julip4 tweeted. “Trump can go blank himself.”

“Trump’s union of one, himself, was organized to protect his interests,” Kennicott tweeted. “Any union member who votes for Trump is a fool. He hates unions and will destroy them if he becomes president.”

“When Biden was on the picket line, Trump purposefully made his one appearance on the same day at a plant that was nonunion lol,” BHVBum tweeted. “Do you think the Teamsters can spot a con?”

“He’s a Scab, A Cheat, A Union Buster, an Insurrectionist and Violently Anti-Democratic. This Scab has packed the courts with anti-union judges that prevent working people from getting a fair wage,” tweeted AB6250. “He loves to lie to your face. BUT WE’RE ON TO HIM.

“He loves to lie more than anything–especially when it means pushing people to commit violent acts against our democratic way of life and to attack law enforcement,” that tweeter added. “I’m sticking with the Unions.”

No other presidential hopeful faces millions of dollars in fines for both his misogyny and for cheating both New York state of taxes and lying to his lenders about his wealth. Nor does any other presidential hopeful ever face 91 criminal counts in D.C., Georgia, and Florida.

Most of them cover his own role in directing and abetting an invasion, insurrection, and coup d’etat attempt at the U.S. Capitol three years ago to retain the Oval Office he had lost to Biden. Federal criminal charges in D.C. declare Trump deprived Americans of their voting rights and right to have votes counted correctly, due to his orders and incitement of the Jan. 6, 2021, Trumpite invasion.

A Georgia state case charges Trump led a wide racketeering conspiracy to steal that swing state’s electoral votes in 2020, too. That trial, with dozens of charges, can’t be stopped by White House action if Trump wins in November. The federal trials can be dropped.

Plus, a federal case in Florida deals with Trump’s purloining of secret papers from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago estate and disclosing secrets—such as how many nukes one U.S. sub carries—to unauthorized people, including an Australian magnate.

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CONTRIBUTOR

Mark Gruenberg
Mark Gruenberg

Award-winning journalist Mark Gruenberg is head of the Washington, D.C., bureau of People's World. He is also the editor of the union news service Press Associates Inc. (PAI). Known for his reporting skills, sharp wit, and voluminous knowledge of history, Mark is a compassionate interviewer but tough when going after big corporations and their billionaire owners.

John Wojcik
John Wojcik

John Wojcik is Editor-in-Chief of People's World. He joined the staff as Labor Editor in May 2007 after working as a union meat cutter in northern New Jersey. There, he served as a shop steward and a member of a UFCW contract negotiating committee. In the 1970s and '80s, he was a political action reporter for the Daily World, this newspaper's predecessor, and was active in electoral politics in Brooklyn, New York.

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