AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Wednesday that an endorsement for President Trump in the 2020 election was unlikely, but didn’t rule it out. He said the labor federation would consider all candidates and that it did back Trump on some issues, primarily trade. Trumka also revealed that Trump got more than one third of union members’ votes in the last election.
“What I’m saying is we’ll consider every candidate who is running and our members will help us decide which one they think will help us most effectively represent … the workers of the country,” Trumka told reporters Wednesday at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “Will he be considered? Will he be looked at? Every candidate will be looked at.”
The reference to members helping them decide is significant because Trump already has the support of much of the union rank and file. Trumka revealed that the AFL-CIO’s own polling showed that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton beat Trump among union voters 58-36 percent, the lowest margin for a Democrat in recent decades. Clinton’s total was 10 percentage points lower than Obama’s in 2012 while Trump exceeded 2012 GOP candidate Mitt Romney by 3 points. This was despite the AFL-CIO and other major unions endorsing Clinton and heavily lobbying their own members to back her.
Trumka praised Trump on trade policy in particular. “It is time to rewrite those rules and he understands that that is what should be done,” he said, adding that the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer consults closely with the AFL-CIO. “We talk with the ambassador and his staff on a regular basis about trade.”
The labor leader was nevertheless sharply critical of Trump in other areas. He slammed his pick of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, claiming Kavanaugh was too pro-corporate. He also attacked Trump on immigration and argued that administration had rolled back too many workplace safety regulations.
“When he does something that is good for workers, I’ll tell workers he is doing it,” Trumka said, adding that he would do the reverse as well.
