Republican pollster Frank Luntz, who is critical of former President Donald Trump, believes the former president and 2024 GOP nominee is attracting a substantial “silent majority” of support from blue-collar union workers. These workers, Luntz argues, have increasingly distanced themselves from their liberal leadership and are not being shy about voicing that opposition.
Speaking on CNN, Luntz explained how, over more than three decades of polling Americans, he has never seen such animosity between union bosses and their bases. Trump, he added, is the fissure line. “I assure you that Donald Trump is doing better among the average union member – not teachers unions and not the unions for government, but everybody else – trades, people working with their hands.
“He’s doing better among them than any Republican has done in decades. This is not gonna be a problem for him. The union leadership is more divided from their membership, and the louder it is, the greater the divides are gonna come,” he told host Abby Phillip and the rest of the panel. “And in my focus groups, and this is remarkable to me, the union membership says ‘They don’t speak for me,'” Luntz continued. “I’ve been in this now since, and I hate to say this, 1989, 1990. I’ve never had union people publicly say ‘they don’t speak for me,’” he reiterated.
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CNN’s panel discussion was sparked by the United Auto Workers union filing federal labor charges against President Trump and X owner Elon Musk, following a conversation about non-union labor. Trump, who garnered significant union support in his 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton, has recently maintained a strong relationship with Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who spoke at the Republican National Convention last month.
O’Brien viewed this as an opportunity to address union concerns to a new conservative audience but has faced criticism from other Teamsters leaders for moving away from their traditional Democratic base. According to Luntz, such developments are unprecedented in his polling experience.
Throughout his campaign, President Trump has actively sought opportunities to address union crowds and garner their support. Last year, he bypassed the first GOP debate to visit Michigan, a crucial swing state and the site of a historic strike impacting all three major U.S. auto manufacturers. In September, the Oil and Gas Workers Association, representing 50,000 members in domestic drilling, endorsed Trump for both the GOP primary and the general election. Trump maintained this approach during his Manhattan hush money trial, where he appeared before New York construction union workers who were eager to express their support to the media.
Steamfitters Local 638 President Bobby Bartels told Newsmax that he had the opportunity to discuss with Trump some of the most pressing issues for his members, including immigration, crime, and high prices. “In the past, we are basically Democrats, all of us. And after what’s happened the last 4 years in this country, Democrats are basically pushing everybody to the other side,” he said at the time. “We are a very patriotic group and we love our country and we want the best for America. We are tired of immigration, we are tired of our tax dollars going to immigration, we are tired of the crime, we need to put a handle back on things in this country.”
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“Right now [Trump is] leading 3 to 1 [with union workers]. Why is it happening? I mean, if you can’t see it with your eyes open, what’s going on in this country, then nobody will ever change your mind.”
— Bobby Bartels Jr., Steamfitters Local 638@EmmaRechenberg @ShaunKraisman pic.twitter.com/JR7V412sQb
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) April 26, 2024