While the Democrats’ campaign consisted basically of a failed record and calling President-elect Donald Trump “Hitler,” Trump won big because he was reaching out to many people and having more people get on board who were not satisfied with what the Dems had to offer. He made an alliance with people like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He won polls with the Teamsters with about 60 percent over Kamala Harris, even though the leadership didn’t endorse anyone, and pulled in more union member support. The workers saw him as someone who cared more about their concerns.
READ MORE: First There Was the Teamsters Poll, Now There Are Even More Union Members for Trump
As Matt Vespa reported at our sister site Townhall, Trump’s still doing that reach out, and he just managed something pretty stunning that is likely to drive Democrats crazy.
Trump met with leaders of the International Longshoremen’s Association, and the way that their Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett described the meeting was historic.
🚨 Statement from Int’l Longshoremen’s Association EVP Dennis Daggett on his meeting with President Trump:
“In over 25 years of working in Washington, I have never seen a Republican take up the mantle for working-class people. President-elect Trump proved me wrong yesterday.” pic.twitter.com/X8sw8xcSSZ
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) December 14, 2024
“I had the honor of meeting with President-elect Donald Trump yesterday, and I want to share an experience I never imagined in my wildest dreams,” Daggett wrote Friday morning on Facebook.
“Throughout my career, I’ve never seen a politician—let alone the President of the United States—truly understand the importance of the work our members do every single day,” he continued. “But yesterday, President-elect Trump not only demonstrated that understanding but also showed the utmost respect for the hard work, sacrifices, and dedication of our membership.”
Daggett said Trump was “attentive” and “genuinely engaged” with their concerns about the existential threat of automation.
Daggett said it was “rare to meet a leader who truly listens, and even rarer to find one who is willing to act.”
Let’s put politics aside for a moment, as I know it can be challenging for some to grasp. But I witnessed something extraordinary firsthand—this man truly wants to fight for America and its working class. In over 25 years of working in Washington, I have never seen a Republican take up the mantle for working-class people. President-elect Trump proved me wrong yesterday.
He didn’t just tell us in private that he supports workers—he made it clear to the whole world.
Trump posted the letter on Truth Social, expressing concerns about the impact of automation and criticizing foreign companies harming American workers with automation.
“The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen. Foreign companies have made a fortune in the U.S. by giving them access to our markets.”
You have to envision Democrats losing their minds when they see the letter from Daggett. The Democrats think they are owed the votes of union members. But with Trump, with positive economic policies, there has been a sea change that seems to have flipped the GOP into becoming more the party of the workers and the Democrats transforming into the party of the elites. Democrats lost the plot when they became more concerned about their own power and control than the people they were supposed to be representing.