Tipsheet

Teamsters President Delivers Fiery, 'Drain the Swamp' Address at Republican Convention

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  July 15, 2024 11:30 PM

It was a non-endorsement endorsement by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters tonight. Sean O’Brien proudly proclaimed he was the first president of the labor giant to formally address the Republican National Convention in its 121-year history. The address was an indefatigable screed in defense of America’s workers. It showed a changing of the guard both within the Republican Party, which had long loathed the Teamsters, and the union itself, as O’Brien said he didn’t care if your name has a D, an R, or an ‘I’ next to it—they want to know what you’re doing to help the American worker. 

O’Brien said that times are changing, and the Teamsters are willing to work with anyone to help the working class. He lamented how this nation has taken American workers for granted, though that changed during the pandemic when we saw how vital the industries where the Teamsters are most present are to our daily lives. 

The speech was soaked in the populist change the GOP has undergone since Trump, though its roots were in the Tea Party Movement. The GOP's base has become bluer in the collars they’re sporting, with most seeing a broken system stacked against those who aren’t corporate fat cats. O’Brien said that American workers aren’t stupid; they see a broken system that isn’t giving the little guy a chance. 

O’Brien said that he refuses to show blind loyalty to the Democratic Party or other past political agreements of the past. In short, the man declared that the Hoffa days were truly done. His only goal is to work with people to push a bipartisan agenda to help the American worker. 

For the old guard and liberals who slammed him for attending and addressing the RNC, O’Brien shrugs. It should be noted that an invitation to the Democratic National Convention was never extended. Some reporters, like New York Times' Maggie Haberman, said the address was a throwback to the late Zell Miller's even more animated speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention.

The Teamsters head thanked the former president for having the “backbone” to open the doors of the convention. O’Brien also said that no other Republican 2024 candidate would have invited the Teamsters, with Trump being the only one who isn’t afraid to hear from new, loud, and often critical voices. He later said that whether you him or hate him, one thing cannot be denied after the failed assassination attempt on Trump on July 13: He’s one tough SOB:

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Mr. O’Brien later spoke and credited Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who was opposed to the Teamsters but later walked the picket lines with these people, changing his tune by challenging the corporate heads, lawyers, and apologists who, as he sees it, are robbing the ordinary American blind. One line that resonated with attendees was this one about elites having no party nor allegiance to any nation—they only care about their balance sheets at the expense of the American worker. 

He later turned his fire on Washington, saying it’s a treacherous area where legislation goes nowhere, with a collection of actors who are all talk and no action. Doesn’t that sound familiar? O’Brien wants to drain the swamp since inaction is killing American working families. He later trashed the political caste system that keeps politicians from being held accountable and shielded from their constituents. 

The Teamsters president added that American workers own this nation; they’re not renters or tenants, but the corporate elites treat them like squatters. He expounded upon reforming bankruptcy laws to protect businesses from being abused and gobbled by American goliath corporate interests, making it easier for companies to remain in America, and better trade policies that put American workers first. Those who target workers are guilty of economic terrorism. 

The 1.3 million Teamsters members are moving to America, working on the roads, ports, and railways. It’s an organization that’s no longer a default Democratic Party ally. That should create some anxiety for Joe Biden, his crew, and this shallow reputation that he’s labor unions’ biggest ally. Mr. O’Brien isn’t buying into old agreements, Joe. And while not an official endorsement, the Teamsters have made it clear that they’re not happy with the state of the American worker under Joe Biden.