Teamsters President Sean O’Brien suggested that Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California and Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York should “step aside” following Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat in the presidential election. The union announced in September that it would not endorse a candidate in the election, despite President-elect Donald Trump receiving strong support in surveys of the rank-and-file Teamsters members via phone and online polls. O’Brien reaffirmed that decision when asked by Your World host Neil Cavuto.
“The polling that we did was extensive. Obviously, it went towards President Trump but we still got a large contingency that are still Democrat, vote Democrat,” O’Brien said. “The decision we made as a general executive board, I’ll stand by it. The good news is that the Democrats have an opportunity to refocus and try to reclaim why they lost the working class and the Republicans have been saying they want to be the working-class people. So, it’s a great opportunity for both sides, especially Republican, to prove that. We have a lot of issues we need to get resolved in this country, and we have got to do it.”
Cavuto pointed out that O’Brien did not speak at the Democratic convention in August after addressing the Republican convention in July. O’Brien explained that his focus was on ensuring elected officials “take care of the working people.” He added: “We want results, not excuses. And look, the great part about this process is we have four more years. If people don’t, on either side, live up to their promises and/or fix their problems, we’ve got four years to build a machine to get the right people in there that will make the right decisions.”
O’Brien also took aim at Democratic leaders, saying they were too focused on “social issues” during an “Economic election.” “At the end of the day, a lot of these issues are important but what is more important is providing an opportunity for your family, putting food on the table, saving some money and living the American dream. So, they have got a lot of soul-searching to do,” O’Brien said. “I said this earlier today in another interview, the Democrat Party needs to take a look in the mirror and say maybe Chuck Schumer’s time is over, maybe … Pelosi’s time is over. Let’s figure out who is going to be the best for the party.”
“As an organization, we are always looking at how do we leave this organization better than we found it. I think that needs to be the focus,” O’Brien added. “Look, we all have pensions for a reason. That’s to use them to retire and enjoy life. Maybe they should take a page out of Joe Biden’s book and step aside.”
