Trump campaign: Where's Kamala? UAW: In Michigan with union autoworkers
Part of former U.S. President Donald Trump's GOP presidential campaign strategy has involved repeatedly asking, "Where's Kamala?"
On Thursday, one of the nation's largest labor unions resoundingly responded: "At UAW Local 900 in Wayne, Michigan with 150 autoworkers."
That's what United Auto Workers communications director Jonah Furman said on social media as Vice President Kamala Harris and her Democratic running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, joined UAW members at the Local 900 hall in Wayne following the union's endorsement for president
"To me, this election is real simple. It's about one question, a question we've made famous in the labor movement: Which side are you on?" UAW president Shawn Fain said at the swing state rally.
"On one side, we've got a billionaire who serves himself and his billionaire buddies. He lies, cheats, and steals his way to the top. He is the lapdog of the billionaire class," said Fain, who has called Trump a "scab."
"On the other side, we've got a badass woman who has stood on the picket line with working-class people," he continued. "Kamala Harris is a champion of the working class."
In 2019, Kamala Harris—then a U.S. senator from California running for president—walked a picket line with striking UAW workers in Reno, Nevada.
President Joe Biden made history last year as the first U.S. president to join striking workers on a picket line when he rallied with UAW members outside of a General Motors plant in Belleville, Michigan as they fought for a fair contract. The Biden-Harris administration has often been called the most pro-labor presidency in modern history.
"You know, every time Donald Trump gets the chance, he trashes our union," Fain said. "He comes to Michigan and talks about how he's gonna bring back the auto industry... While he was the president of the United States, auto plants were fleeing the country."
Speaking at Thursday's rally, Harris said, "I am so deeply honored, as a lifelong supporter of union labor, for Tim and I to have the endorsement of the UAW."
"When you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for," she added. "We stand for the people. We stand for the dignity of work. We stand for justice. We stand for equality. And we will fight for all of it."
Harris has won the endorsement of labor organizations including the AFL-CIO, National Education Association, National Nurses United, and—despite a dubious Trump promise to stop taxing tips—the service industry unions SEIU and UNITE HERE.
"We know which side we're on," Fain said Wednesday in a statement endorsing Harris. "We're voting for Kamala Harris in 2024. Because she's walked the walk. Because she supports working-class people when we fight for more. And because we don't need another billionaire in the White House."
"Donald Trump is no friend of the working class," Fain added. "Donald Trump is a scab. I'm a UAW member, and I'm voting for Kamala Harris for president."