The feud between former President Trump and the head of the United Auto Workers (UAW) has reached a climax after the union endorsed President Biden last week.
The UAW endorsed Biden’s reelection at a union meeting in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday, after previously withholding support over concerns about the administration’s push for electric vehicles.
UAW President Sean Fein also touted Biden’s record on labor while criticizing Trump and calling the former president a “scab.”
“Donald Trump is a billionaire and that’s what he represents,” Fein said. “If Donald Trump worked in an auto factory, he wouldn’t be a member of the UAW. He’d be an office worker trying to oppress American workers. We stand against everything we stand for as a union.”
“The choice is clear,” he added. “Joe Biden bet on American workers, Donald Trump blamed American workers.”
Days later, Fein attacked the former president again in an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” saying that while Trump has a “history of serving himself,” Biden has a “history of serving himself.” He said he has a history of serving “other people and the working class.”
“Donald Trump has a history of serving himself and representing the billionaire class. And that goes against everything working-class people stand for,” Fein said.
UAW leaders are clearly under President Trump’s skin.
The former president has since slammed Fein, calling him a “stupid” and a “stiff,” supporting Biden’s vision for electric vehicles and accusing him of selling out the auto industry “to the big, powerful hands of China.” .
“Sean Fein doesn’t understand this and has no clue,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Stop these drugs and vote for DJT. I will bring the auto industry back to our country.”
In an interview with FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo scheduled to air Sunday, the former president dismissed the UAW as a “hopeless case” and said he had never spoken to the union.
The exchange with Fein came as both Biden and Trump turned their attention to the November general election. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley remains in the Republican primary, but Trump is clearly the frontrunner for the nomination, especially after wins in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Mr. Trump’s team has suggested that even stripping Mr. Biden of some of his support among organized labor could make a difference in what is expected to be a close election. The former president lost union membership by eight points in the 2016 election, and that gap widened to 14 points in 2020, according to exit polls.
President Trump is also fighting to retake Michigan, the home of the U.S. auto industry, following a successful UAW strike against three major automakers. Michigan broke away from decades of stable Democratic support, electing Trump in 2016 and flipping the state to Biden in 2020.
While a significant portion of UAW union members may vote for Trump anyway, the former president has a steep mountain to climb along with union leaders. Even when he appealed for support for the UAW last year, Trump claimed that rank-and-file members were being “sold down the river” by the leadership.
Trump further irritated UAW leadership by traveling to Detroit to speak at non-union stores during last fall’s strike.
Biden campaign officials believe they can draw a strong contrast between the president’s support for auto workers and investment during his administration and the factory closures and relocations of the Trump era. Biden also endeared himself to UAW union members by becoming the first president to march on picket lines during union strikes against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.
To win Michigan, one of the battleground states likely to decide November’s election, Biden will need to build a diverse coalition among union members, black voters, young voters and other blocs. There is a need to. The president won the state by 154,000 votes in 2020, but recent polls show him trailing Trump in the state.
Ahead of the state’s presidential primary on February 27, Mr. Biden met with members of the UAW who were doing phone banking to support Mr. Biden in Warren, Michigan.
“It’s fundamental to me, and I mean it wholeheartedly,” he said. “Wall Street didn’t build the middle class. Workers built the middle class, and the middle class built the country.”
Amid the conflict with the UAW, President Trump has turned his attention to the Teamsters union and spoke with Teamsters President Sean O’Brien on Wednesday. When asked about possible support from the union, the former president suggested that “something strange happened.”
But Mr. Fein said Thursday that it was “absolutely” inconceivable that Mr. Trump would have the support of labor unions.
“I’m not going to answer for Sean O’Brien, but I’m 100% betting that there’s no way a union would support Donald Trump for president,” Fein said. “This man is against everything that working-class people represent, everything that organized labor represents.
“Look, they chose to enjoy the visit with the candidate, and that’s the path they chose,” he added. “So, looking at Donald Trump’s track record, I thought it didn’t make sense.”
For his part, Fein appears to be a key part of the Biden team’s strategy to appeal broadly to UAW workers and working-class voters. The UAW president accompanied Biden on his trip to the Detroit area on Thursday, making him a motivated and effective surrogate for the president’s re-election bid.
“I know who’s in labor and I know who’s not in labor,” Fain told UAW members Thursday. “We’re going to fight like hell and make sure that Joe Biden becomes the next president.”
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