David Drucker reports for the Washington Examiner on President Trump’s appeal to workers and the impact for unions.
Hidden beneath the hoopla at a major organized labor gathering, which had become a de facto Democratic pep rally, were two quiet supporters of President Trump.
The men, union activists, were on hand for an Iowa Federation of Labor convention that featured a procession of top Democratic presidential contenders. Nearly all entered and exited the modest events center ballroom in Altoona, just up the road from Des Moines, to standing ovations, as they argued that Trump had failed the union households that helped propel him to office in 2016.
But the Trump-supporting labor organizers, who spoke to the Washington Examiner outside the ballroom, on condition of anonymity as their colleagues whooped it up with the president’s would-be challengers, affirmed their support for the incumbent in 2020. They said fellow union members were preparing to follow suit, despite a trade dispute with China that threatens their livelihoods. Such sentiments could sink the eventual Democratic nominee in this key battleground.
“There’s a lot of affinity for him” among the rank and file, said one of them, explaining that he and his colleague were withholding their names to avoid antagonizing labor leaders and dragging their employer into a political controversy.
