Donald Trump has built his biggest political coalition yet for this election.
He’s rewriting the rules of politics.
And a steelworker had one confession about Donald Trump that is bad news for Democrats.
Donald Trump dons a hard hat after earning an endorsement from steelworkers
Former President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania where he delivered a message focused on the economy.
He discussed his “Build it in American Plan” to boost American manufacturing.
“If these companies don’t make their product here, then they will pay a tariff when they send their product into the United States for the privilege with competing with our workers and our cherished companies,” Trump said.
Western Pennsylvania, where Latrobe is located, was the heart of the country’s once vibrant steel industry.
“We saved the steel industry in this country, and now we’re going to make it really powerful again,” Trump stated.
The former was joined on stage by about a dozen steelworkers who gifted him with a hard hat.
Trump dons a hard hat given to him by the United Steelworkers Union.pic.twitter.com/bN4zoWCsat
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) October 20, 2024
A local chapter of the United Steelworkers (USW) endorsed Trump at the rally.
Union bosses running the national USW endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris after she replaced President Joe Biden.
This was another example of the rift between rank-and-file union members supporting Trump and the union bosses backing Kamala.
Steelworkers explain their reason for backing Trump
The steelworkers who appeared at Trump’s Latrobe rally were guests on Fox & Friends, where they credited the former President’s tariffs on steel for saving their jobs.
U.S. Steelworkers 1557 member Glenn Thomas noted that he and many of his co-workers used to be Democrats.
“Historically, we’ve all been Democrats,” Thomas said. “A couple of us up here are third-generation steelworkers, and we had a trade case years ago that our ex-international president, Tom Conway, was fighting against the Chinese for illegal dumping, and when President Trump stepped in, and he imposed those tariffs on the Chinese, I firmly believe that he saved the steel industry, not only in our country, but the Mon Valley, where many of us have lived for close to 30 years.”
Trump put tariffs on steel and aluminum in 2018 to keep China from flooding the country with cheap, low-quality steel.
Steelworker Andy Macey recalled the massive layoffs and closures in the steel industry in the 1980s.
“I’m a third-generation steelworker. I have been through those layoffs. It’s not fun,” Macey explained. “I’ve seen three mills shut down in the valley in the 80s. We have three mills left in the valley. I don’t want to see those shutdown.”
Macey revealed that Trump gave him a promise to keep the American steel industry alive.
“And he made a firm commitment when I asked him with a handshake, ‘Mr. President, after the election, will you do what can you to keep our Mon Valley viable in the steel industry?’ He gripped my hand and confirmed to me through that handshake that he says ‘I will do that,’” Macey said.
“It was one of the first things he did when he got into the Presidency is to put those tariffs on,” Macey stated. “They worked.”
Donald Trump has welcomed blue-collar workers in the Republican Party and upended the political coalitions.
