Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley scrutinized former President Donald Trump’s stance on labor unions Wednesday while he met with the executive board of the Teamsters.
Calling the International Brotherhood of Teamsters an “ultra-liberal group,” Haley’s campaign challenged Trump’s conservative credentials amid his roundtable meeting with the influential union.
The campaign laid out a series of questions, including whether the former president supports the group’s “efforts to gut right-to-work laws” and its approval of “Biden’s trillion-dollar spending sprees,” in reference to actions President Joe Biden has taken on student debt relief. The campaign also pointed to the Teamsters Union PAC giving more than $1 million to Democratic campaigns and just 2% of total contributions to Republicans.
“Donald Trump is looking more like Joe Biden every day,” Haley campaign spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas said in a statement. “If Donald Trump agrees with the Teamsters on gutting right-to-work laws, pushing for amnesty, spending trillions of dollars, and funding liberal causes then he should get on the debate stage and explain his liberal stances to Republican primary voters.”
Trump’s campaign did not provide comment to the Washington Examiner.
The former president met Wednesday with the Teamsters executive board for a roundtable discussion, his second meeting with the group after hosting President Sean O’Brien at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida earlier this month. His prioritization of the powerful union comes as Trump looks to court valuable working-class votes that are becoming a critical part of the Republican Party’s base.
The group is expected to be particularly important in the general election in November given the significant portion of blue-collar workers in swing states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
But Haley’s choice to out-flank Trump from the right on unions is likely aimed at cutting his support in the Republican primary, specifically in South Carolina’s Feb. 24 race.
“Haley has long been opposed to unions, including as governor of South Carolina,” said University of South Carolina political scientist David Darmofal, recalling her history of facing off against labor groups.
During her time as governor of the Palmetto State, Haley often referred to herself as a “union buster” who used her high heels, which she has made a habit of mentioning on the campaign trail, to kick “thug” union leaders.
She recently pointed back to her opposition during the United Auto Workers strike last year, criticizing the workers’ ask for more generous benefits, which she said “we’re all going to suffer from.”
“I didn’t want to bring in companies that were unionized simply because I didn’t want to have that change the environment in our state,” Haley said of her actions as South Carolina governor.
Per Darmofal, “By criticizing Trump for meeting with the Teamsters Union, she may be trying to appeal to anti-union Republican voters in South Carolina.”
Though it’s been years since Haley was governor, South Carolina is still considered relatively averse to unions. And despite union approval last year hitting its highest since 1965 at 71%, South Carolina still boasted the smallest union membership in the country in 2023, at 2.3%.
Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) articulated strong opposition to unions in his recent State of the State address, similar to Haley’s stance. “One thing we do not need is more labor unions in South Carolina,” he said in remarks last week. “We will fight. All the way to the gates of hell. And we will win this battle.”
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Despite his firm anti-union position, McMaster is a longtime endorser of Trump’s presidential bid.
Asked of Haley’s strategy to win over some South Carolina conservatives by questioning Trump’s union support, South Carolina Republican strategist Chip Felkel remarked that Haley is throwing “everything including the kitchen sink” at Trump, hoping to make progress in her home state.