Former US President Donald Trump met with the leaders of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Wednesday in a bid to secure their endorsement as the business mogul prepares to break the union’s support from Democrats.
According to the polls, Donald Trump appears the likely candidate of the Republican party to face incumbent President Joe Biden in November this year.
His meeting in Washington comes days after he lost the endorsement of the United Auto Workers, to which he reacted angrily.
Unions in the US have been on the rise and in this regard, the Teamsters have significant importance as they have been winning significant contracts.
Trump’s grip on the Republican presidential nomination has tightened after his victories in Iowa and New Hampshire this month.
After the meeting, the 77-year-old was not sure whether Teamsters would endorse him as they supported Biden before the 2020 election.
However, the former president claimed that he enjoys strong support among the union’s members, saying that his pledge to impose tariffs on Chinese goods and to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants across the US-Mexico border, is backed by many people of the 1.3 million-member union.
“I’ve dealt with unions my whole life, I have a great relationship with unions,” the first-ever criminally charged ex-president said. “We had a very good discussion.”
The union has not announced their endorsement yet.
Sean O’Brien, the Teamsters president, said the meeting with Trump had been “pleasant” and “direct”, adding that there still needed to be questions asked of both Trump and Biden and that “we’ve got a long way to go before we make a decision about an endorsement.”
According to the union boss, there was support for both Trump and Biden among his rank-and-file members.
