Watch: JD Vance booed by room full of firefighters after he calls himself 'pro-worker'

29 August 2024

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) likely didn't win over many firefighters to the Republican ticket, judging by a speech he delivered on Thursday.

During a meeting of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) — which is part of the hugely influential AFL-CIO — Vance addressed the Boston, Massachusetts crowd of union firefighters as part of former President Donald Trump's efforts to make inroads with union workers. But Vance's speech was interrupted by loud boos after he tried to tout the GOP ticket's "pro-worker" bona fides.

"President Trump and I are proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history," Vance said, as the audience started to boo. "And I want to talk about why we're fighting for working people, why we're going to fight for unions, and non-union alike."

Vance's speech to the IAFF came a day after Minnesota Governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz addressed the group, in which he said that Trump and Vance had "waged war on working people" with their policies.

"The only thing those two guys know about working people is how to work to take advantage of them," Walz said.

In the last few weeks, the Ohio senator has struggled to appear relatable on the campaign stump. He recently made an appearance at a bakery in Georgia, in which he was ridiculed for his stiff and rigid demeanor while conducting basic retail politics. Vance attempted to explain the awkward photo-op by blaming his advance team for not adequately preparing the store's workers for his arrival.

Trump and Vance have been hoping to appeal to union workers as a means of cutting into the advantage Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign has with the traditionally Democratic constituency. President Joe Biden easily carried the union vote in 2020, edging out Trump by 16 points. However, Trump has performed relatively well with that bloc in the past, only losing the union vote by eight percentage points to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016.

During the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July, International Brotherhood of Teamsters president Sean O'Brien was one of the primetime speakers. While O'Brien argued that his speech wasn't a partisan act or an endorsement of Trump and that he would speak at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) if invited, his speech nonetheless sparked outrage among union workers — including from other Teamsters. After that speech, Teamsters vice president at-large John Palmer announced he was running against O'Brien as president. O'Brien, in the meantime, was not invited to speak at the DNC.

"This administration rode into power on a wave of excitement generated by our members’ desires and frustration. We were promised a more engaged leadership and a more militant union," Palmer said of O'Brien. "What we have received so far is a PR blast furnace of misinformation and betrayal."

Watch the clip of Vance getting booed below, or by clicking this link.

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