Teamster say won’t back presidential candidate, but prefer Trump in poll

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00:00It's the first time in three decades that the Teamsters union will not endorse a presidential

00:08candidate.

00:09One of the largest unions in the US released a statement saying neither candidate showed

00:13enough commitment to the union's demands to round up support from its members.

00:19After reviewing six months of nationwide member polling, the union was left with few commitments

00:24on top Teamsters issues from either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala

00:30Harris and found no definitive support among members for either party's nominee.

00:36It's a humiliating blow to Kamala Harris as the union has systematically endorsed Democratic

00:42presidential candidates since Vice President Al Gore in 2000, but Donald Trump welcomed

00:48the news.

00:49It's a great honor. They're not going to endorse the Democrats. That's a big thing. And this

00:55is the first time in, I guess, 50, 60 years that that's happened. Democrats automatically

00:59have the Teamsters. They took a vote, and I guess I was at 60% or more, and that's a

01:04great honor.

01:06The Teamsters launched an electronic poll among its 1.3 million members after Joe Biden's

01:11withdrawal from the race, which showed that 60% preferred to endorse Donald Trump and

01:1734% backed Kamala Harris.

01:20The Teamsters, which represent truck drivers, freight workers and workers across a variety

01:25of other sectors, was one of the last major unions to announce who it was backing. Other

01:31unions like the powerful American Federation of Teachers and the United Auto Workers chose

01:36to back Harris.

01:38They have a strong presence in swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan,

01:43Obtaining the union's endorsement could also show that the presidential candidate is receptive

01:47to the blue-collar workers' needs, making their support in the presidential race crucial

01:52for either candidate.

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