45th President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien had accepted his invitation to speak at the upcoming Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
This is a significant development for Trump, who is currently leading President Biden in polls among traditionally Democratic-leaning groups, including union members. A recent survey revealed that Biden and Trump are tied at 47% among union members in the six closest swing states Biden won in 2020: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
O’Brien, the head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, has been a controversial figure. Last year, Post columnist Charlie Gasparino criticized O’Brien for his lack of compromise with a major union employer, Yellow, which resulted in the loss of 22,000 Teamsters jobs.
O’Brien has a history with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), which might explain his current relationship with Trump. In November, Sanders intervened when O’Brien and Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) nearly came to blows at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing.
Mullin, a former mixed-martial-arts fighter, had challenged O’Brien over social media posts where O’Brien had taunted him, saying, “Quit the tough guy act in these senate hearings. You know where to find me. Anyplace.” Mullin responded, “Sir, this is the time, this is the place. You wanna run your mouth? We could be two consenting adults. We can finish it here.” O’Brien replied, “I’d love to do it right now,” but the situation was defused by Sanders.
Despite this contentious background, O’Brien declined to endorse Joe Biden for president when speaking to Fox Business Network host Neil Cavuto days later. Trump announced O’Brien’s acceptance on Truth Social, and his campaign’s follow-up email highlighted a January roundtable discussion where O’Brien described their conversation as “an in-depth and productive discussion on worker issues most important to the Teamsters Union.”