Well, this is a twist, isn’t it? Sean O’Brien, the Teamsters President, took off the gloves in his recent interview with comedian Theo Von. It’s not every day you hear a high-profile union leader like O’Brien calling out the Democratic Party with the kind of unfiltered language you’d expect more from a stand-up routine than a union meeting. But here we are, and the message is clear: the Democrats have been taking the support of working-class folks for granted for decades, and the bill has come due.
O’Brien didn’t mince words. “I’m a Democrat, but they have f—ed us over for the last 40 years,” he told Von on the “This Past Weekend” podcast. And he’s got the numbers to back up his frustration. The Teamsters, for the first time in decades, decided to withhold their endorsement for a Democratic presidential candidate in 2024. Why? Because when they asked their members who they supported, the results must have given some Democratic strategists heartburn. A solid 59.6% of Teamsters rank-and-file backed Donald Trump, compared to just 34% for Kamala Harris.
You can practically hear the panic alarms going off in Democratic circles. But instead of addressing the real issues, like why a union known for backing the Democrats for years is suddenly throwing its support behind Trump, the attacks came flying at O’Brien from the left. It’s a classic case of shooting the messenger when you don’t like the message.
O’Brien had some receipts to share, too. During his two-and-a-half years as president, the Teamsters handed over a cool $15.7 million to the Democratic machine, while the GOP got just $340,000. And what did the Democrats do in return? According to O’Brien, they took the cash, but when it came to policies that actually helped union workers, it was a whole lot of talk and not much action. It’s no wonder he’s calling out the Democrats for being “bought and paid for by Big Tech.”
Meanwhile, Republicans see a golden opportunity. With blue-collar support slipping away from the Democrats, the GOP is making a play for the working-class vote. O’Brien isn’t handing them a free pass, but he is pointing out that if Republicans really want to be the party of working people, now is their chance. And honestly, given the way the Democrats have taken this bloc for granted, it’s no shock that some union members are ready to listen.
O’Brien even made history in July, becoming the first Teamsters president to address a Republican National Convention. That move, as you might imagine, didn’t sit well with some of his Democratic-leaning colleagues. But O’Brien seems unfazed by the criticism, doubling down on his message that the Democrats need to look in the mirror instead of pointing fingers at him or the union.
“And the Democrats, if 60% of our members aren’t supporting you, the f—ing system is broken, and you need to fix it,” O’Brien declared. He’s not wrong. For a party that’s built its brand around being the voice of working people, losing the support of one of the biggest unions in the country should be a wake-up call.
JUST IN: Teamsters President Sean O’Brien EVISCERATES the Dem Party..
“’ll be honest with you, I’m a Democrat but they have f*cked us over for the last 40 years.”
“Since I’ve been in office 2.5 years, we’ve given the Democratic machine $15.7 million.”
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) October 8, 2024
But will the Democrats take the hint, or will they keep doubling down on the same old rhetoric while losing the very people they claim to represent? O’Brien’s outburst is more than just a disgruntled rant; it’s a signal that the political landscape is shifting. If the Democrats don’t start delivering more than lip service to the working class, they might just find themselves looking back at 2024 as the year they lost one of their most loyal allies. And as for Sean O’Brien? Well, he seems more than happy to let them know where they went wrong.
