Trump set to meet with Teamsters as he targets Biden support

Former president Donald Trump is set to meet with the Teamsters Union on Wednesday in an attempt to slice into one of President Joe Biden’s prior lines of support. 

Trump will meet with Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman, the union’s executive board and other members for a roundtable held at the group’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Teamsters said in a news release. Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed the meeting as well.

Biden, who was also invited to participate in a Teamsters rank-and-file roundtable Wednesday, was endorsed by the union in the 2020 election against Trump. 

Biden “looks forward to meeting with the Teamsters and earning their endorsement” in this year’s election, a Biden campaign official told NBC News. It was not clear if the president would meet with the group Wednesday. 

The Teamsters said the roundtable will be an opportunity for candidates to discuss how the next president and the group “can work together to empower and protect workers, promote high labor standards and strengthen the American economy while expanding the middle class.” 

The union said former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Trump’s rival for the GOP nomination, has received an invitation to meet with the group as well.

In meeting with the Teamsters, Trump eying union members who tend to vote Democratic. The union also endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 against the former president. 

However, as the election draws nearer, the Teamsters president said the group is open to lending Trump an ear in his effort to win them over. 

“Our members want to hear from all candidates of all parties about what they plan to do for working people as President,” O’Brien said in a statement. 

O’Brien added that their members are “essential to every trade industry in this country,” and don’t all fall into one political alignment. 

“Our members are working in all 50 states and represent every political background, including no affiliation,” O’Brien said. “Our union wants every candidate to know that there are 1.3 million Teamsters nationwide whose votes will not be taken for granted. Workers’ voices must be heard.”

Despite Trump’s move to meet with the Teamsters and garner union support, Biden has already succeeded in earning endorsements from a handful of unions for the 2024 race, including from the United Auto Workers last week. 

Biden also received an early endorsement from the AFL-CIO in June.