Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Teamsters President Sean O’Brien sparred following the union’s decision to not endorse Vice President Harris or former President Trump in the presidential election.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters decided to not issue an endorsement for the election for the first time since 1996 and only the third time since 1960, The Hill reported on Wednesday.
O’Brien told The Hill that his union didn’t back Harris or former President Trump “because both candidates didn’t commit on the core issues that we need to get accomplished on behalf of our members.”
In a CNN interview on Thursday, anchor Dana Bash asked O’Brien about comments from Ocasio-Cortez in which she said labor organizations like the Teamsters rely on Democrats to achieve specific policies.
A video of Ocasio-Cortez talking to CNN’s Manu Raju played where she is seen saying, “When the Teamsters are in trouble, who do they call?”
“It was Sean O’Brien calling Democrats for help,” Ocasio-Corte added.
She also posted on X yesterday and said that “Sean O’Brien has been boosting Republicans all year while supporting anti-worker, anti-choice Senate candidates.”
In response, O’Brien told Bash that Ocasio-Cortez should focus on her district.
“She (Ocasio-Cortez) should maybe get into her district where it voted far-right Republican,” O’Brien said in a CNN interview with Dana Bash that was posted by a pro-Trump X account Thursday.
Bash was quick to question what O’Brien meant by Ocasio-Cortez’s district voting “far-right Republican,” asking if he meant among Teamsters.
“In our polling, New York, her district, voted overwhelmingly Republican to support former President Trump,” O’Brien said.
Bash noted that if his polling is accurate, it would mean that almost 60 percent of Teamsters members prefer Trump over Harris.
Ocasio-Cortez responded to the pro-Trump X account’s post with a press release from Thursday from her district’s local Teamsters union showing that it endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket.
“The NY-14 Teamsters mentioned here have actually voted overwhelmingly to endorse Harris-Walz,” she wrote in her response.
“So let’s set the record straight: Teamsters Local 202 are all in for Harris,” she added in the post.
Other local unions in key battleground states have endorsed Harris too. In Michigan,Teamsters Joint Council No. 43 supported the Democratic ticket.
“Michigan Teamsters President Kevin Moore and the Executive Board on behalf of 245,000 active and retired Teamsters enthusiastically endorse the Harris-Walz campaign,” Kevin D. Moore, president of the Michigan Teamsters Joint Council No. 43, said Wednesday in a Facebook post.
Another union, Teamsters Joint Council 42, which represents 23 local chapters also backed Harris.
“The 300,000 Teamsters who work across California, Nevada, Hawaii, and Guam are fundamental to the American economy, not only producing and transporting goods, but also providing essential services throughout the private and public sectors,” Joint Council 42 President Chris Griswold said in a post on its Facebook page. “They deserve a committed administration that will relentlessly advocate for their rights, ensure their safety, and prioritize the needs of working people.”
