The Teamsters’ political action committee has made its first major donation to the Republican National Committee (RNC) after decades of heavy donations to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), giving $45,000 after a meeting with former President Donald Trump.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has consistently given to the DNC, providing $135,000 in December 2023 and $15,000 in March 2023. With such a recent major donation to the opposing side, the new donation to the RNC is even more surprising.
The last time the group gave money to the RNC was back in 2004 when they gave $15,000. Notably, the recent donation is dedicated to the convention fund and cannot be used in its general fund.
The news of the donation comes from federal donation records though the RNC is currently denying having received any donation from the Teamsters union.
The news comes after Trump previously attended a meeting with many notable members of the group such as General President Sean O’Brien and General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman, who both endorsed the donation to the RNC. The former president had also met with O’Brien privately at his Mar-a-Lago estate in early January.
Trump commented after the meeting with board members where he stated that he believes to have a “good shot” at securing the endorsement from Teamsters’. During the same conference though, O’Brien spoke on the positives he believed President Joe Biden to have for unions and the union boss stated they were uncertain of who the group would place their endorsement with.
The group has long endorsed the Democratic presidential nominee, having chosen Biden in 2020, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Barack Obama in both of his races.
The Teamsters Union represents roughly 1.3 million transportation workers and is currently one of the few unions to not endorse a president in the 2024 election. The group has waited to decide as O’Brien said previously it’s important to know all the candidates before coming to a decision.
An endorsement from Teamsters could be a major chip for Trump in the 2024 race as most unions have flocked to Biden, though this donation has far from set a decision in stone.
