Even through the near-daily meltdowns in front of the United States and world, the seeming inability and/or refusal to grasp basic facts of his position exemplified through thousands and thousands of lies and counting, and his absolute detachment from concerns that would tangibly better the lives of Americans, President Donald Trump wants us to take him seriously. Newly declared Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden isn’t having it. He responded to Trump melting down this Monday morning over union support for the Biden candidacy, painting a dramatic contrast between himself and the belligerent current occupant of the Oval Office and offering an early glimpse of general election-style battles in the process.
Biden asserted:
‘I’m sick of this President badmouthing unions. Labor built the middle class in this country. Minimum wage, overtime pay, the 40-hour week: they exist for all of us because unions fought for those rights. We need a President who honors them and their work.’
Trump had freaked out after Biden secured the endorsement of the International Association of Firefighters, railing against the “Dues Sucking firefighters leadership” who he claimed “will always support Democrats, even though the membership wants me,” adding:
‘Some things never change!’
Shortly before that commentary, Trump had dismissed union leadership in general, asserting he’ll “never get the support of Dues Crazy union leadership, those people who rip-off their membership with ridiculously high dues, medical and other expenses while being paid a fortune.” In other words, his response to a group representing an industry with over a million people in it siding with an opponent was to continue on with his rhetorical flamethrower aimed at the situation while complaining about why those on the other side were seeking to alleviate the turmoil they’ve been put through.
In general, Trump has stood against unions and the issues they represent, like worker safety. He has tried to scale back federal worker unions, although a handful of his executive orders pushing government policy that direction eventually faced a judicial roadblock. Still, the orders had originally been meant to “limit the amount of time workers can spend doing union business during the work day, demand agencies arrange union contacts in less than a year, and urge managers to more quickly fire underperforming workers,” Newsweek explains.
Besides his broad support for union issues, Biden is continuing to work to advance the visibility of his connection to the cause, having been slated to address the International Brotherhood of Teamsters this Monday in his first event as a declared presidential candidate.
Check out Twitter’s response to Biden…
Featured Image via screenshot
