Sen. Mullin not surprised Teamsters declined to endorse a presidential candidate

Republican Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who nearly came to blows with Teamsters President Sean O’Brien last year, says the two have patched things up – and he is not surprised that the union declined to endorse a presidential candidate in the 2024 race.

Mullin told FOX Business in an interview Monday that after former President Trump met with O’Brien months prior to the union leader making his historic speech at the Republican National Convention, Trump called the senator and suggested he meet with O’Brien, too. Mullin recalled Trump telling him, “I think you guys will actually get along if you guys can just sit down and talk.”

Mullin said he met with O’Brien in late winter or early spring and the two had a “great conversation.” The senator said O’Brien apologized to him, and Mullin acknowledged he could have handled things differently, too, in their confrontation last November.

According to Mullin, O’Brien told him in that first conversation, “Look, I’m a Democrat. I was born a Democrat. I’m going to die Democrat. But also, I represent my Teamster brothers, and they’re not with the Democrat[ic] Party right now.”

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The senator also recalled O’Brien saying, “The Democrat[ic] Party left us. We didn’t leave them. They left us.”

Mullin said that at that time, President Biden was still the Democratic nominee, and O’Brien told the senator that he knew the rank-and-file Teamsters members would vote overwhelmingly for Trump if they were polled at that point.

Just before announcing they would not be supporting Trump or Vice President Harris for president last week, the Teamsters released internal polling showing that as of late April to early May, the union’s membership favored Biden over Trump, 44.3% to 36.3%.

But an online survey taken from July through Sept. 15 showed the union’s members favored Trump by 59.6% over Harris, who received 34%. In a separate phone survey earlier this month, Teamsters favored Trump over Harris, 58% to 31%.

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Even though the GOP would love to have the Teamsters endorsement, the fact that the union is not endorsing anyone and that 60% of their members support Trump “speaks volumes,” the Republican said.

But, “It’s not surprising,” Mullin told FOX Business, “when you start looking at where the Democrat Party is today, and what they’re doing to the middle class.”

The senator pointed to the auto industry, the push to do away with combustion motors in the trucking industry, and the heavy regulation of manufacturing that he said pushes jobs out of the U.S.

Mullin, who, with his wife, owns plumbing, HVAC and electrical companies throughout the country, also argued that workers – whether union or not – are frustrated with the high inflation that has occurred during the Biden-Harris administration, and with the fact that their wages are not keeping up.

He said that union workers as a whole also do not like being told by the government what to do or how to live their lives, and they want to be able to go to work and make a good living and come home.

“When you start looking at the Teamsters, I think they’re kind of in the same boat,” Mullin said. 

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Mullin said he and O’Brien now probably talk once a week on average, and are discussing doing speaking engagements together. Although they do not agree on everything, the senator noted, they align on a common goal to work for the workers that make the U.S. economy move. 

He added, “Obviously, Sean O’Brien and I have butted heads [in the past], so the fact that he and I can actually agree on something like this is quite unique.”