Trump Made Big Gains Among Blue-Collar Workers. Is He Really on Their Side?

Under Donald Trump, Republicans have drawn swaths of working-class voters away from the Democratic Party. That presents the president-elect with the challenge of how, if at all, to reflect that new reality in his labor policies.  

While campaigning, Trump aggressively courted rank-and-file union members and invited Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to speak at the Republican National Convention in July. At the same time, the former real-estate developer suggested in an interview with Elon Musk, who was named to co-head a government efficiency commission, that striking workers should be fired. He recalled at a rally that he “hated to give overtime.” 

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“I think there are some issues where, in the past, a Republican administration would just come in and do the reverse of what the Democratic administration did,” such as getting rid of union-friendly government contracts, said Oren Cass, founder of American Compass, a New Right think tank. “I don’t think those things are going to be automatic at all.”

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“These are the kinds of things at least some segments of the Trump coalition are very interested in and seek progress on,” said Cass of American Compass. Then, noting Musk’s comments about workers going on strike, he added: “There are also segments that would say this is all terrible.”