- The Washington Times - Wednesday, July 17, 2024

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ X account slammed its own union president’s decision to speak Monday at the Republican National Convention.

The account shared two articles critical of Sean O’Brien’s speech. The posts have been deleted, and the union has issued no statement about them. 

Additionally, Teamsters Vice President John Palmer called Mr. O’Brien’s RNC appearance “unconscionable.” 

In his keynote address in Milwaukee, Mr. O’Brien said, “Now, when I won the presidency of the Teamsters in a national election two and a half years ago, we started reaching across the aisle. In the past, the Teamsters have endorsed GOP candidates, including [Richard] Nixon, [Ronald] Reagan and George H.W. Bush.”

While the Teamsters have not officially endorsed any political candidate, Mr. O’Brien flirted with former President Donald Trump this year, inviting him to speak to rank-and-file members.

Still, Mr. O’Brien admitted this week that President Biden has done a lot for his union and the labor movement generally. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, the labor leader called Mr. Biden the “most pro-labor president we’ve ever had.”

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.

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