In the aftermath of President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the 2024 presidential election, there have been growing calls for a significant realignment in the Democratic Party. According to some commentators, the election made it apparent that current party leadership has failed to represent the interests of the American people. Among those calling for change, Teamsters International President Sean O’Brien recently called for Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to step aside.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News Host Neil Cavuto, O’Brien explained that the Democrats have “lost touch” with the working class, the very people they have claimed to represent for decades. Data shows that Trump received historic levels of support from union members and blue-collar workers around the country while many have criticized Democrats for becoming the party of the elite in a substantial political realignment.
“I think that they lost — they lost touch with the working class people. It was clearly evident in the election results,” O’Brien told Cavuto. “And look, this was an economic election. I mean, we still have a lot of our members, we still have a lot of working class Americans that are hurt, and they felt the struggle at the pump, they felt the struggle at the grocery store. And instead of embracing and trying to find a solution to the problem, the Democrats took a position that their opinion mattered. And that’s all that mattered. And they wanted to talk down to a lot of working class people.”
Furthermore, the union leader continued to emphasize that Americans were driven by the economy instead of less relevant social issues pushed by the Democrats. “You know, social issues are important. But at the end of the day, it’s putting food on the table, being able to afford a home. And despite, you know, the rhetoric of this is the best economy ever, you know, it really hasn’t been. So that’s what I believe came down to as an economic decision on this election,” O’Brien added.
Building on this point, O’Brien continued, “The stage I’m at with the Democrats is, look, this whole election has proven it was — it was an economic election. You know, there’s a lot of social issues out there that, you know, need to be addressed, or they hedged their bet too much on these social issues.” He further stressed that Democrats must figure out how to better connect with Americans on the economy. “Look, at the end of the day, a lot of these issues are important, but what’s more important is, you know, provide an opportunity for your family, putting food on the table, saving some money and living the American dream,” he said.
Directly calling out the top leaders in the party, Pelosi and Schumer, O’Brien explained there is much “soul searching” to be done in the party, where perhaps it is time for fresh politicians to step in. “So they’ve got a lot of — they’ve got a lot of soul searching to do. And look, I said this earlier today in another interview that, you know, the Democrat Party needs to take a look in the mirror and say, ‘You know, maybe Chuck Schumer’s time is over. Maybe Pelosi’s time is over,” he said unapologetically.
“Let’s figure out who’s going to be the best for the party.’ And look, as an organization, we’re always looking at how do we lead this organization better than we found it. I think that needs to be the focus,” O’Brien asserted. He concluded, “Look, we all have pensions for a reason. That’s to use them and retire and enjoy your life. Maybe they should take a page out of Joe Biden’s book and step aside.”
Watch O’Brien below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
"*" indicates required fields