Trump fires back at AFL-CIO chief: Easy to see why unions do so poorly

President Trump on Monday ripped AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka for his comments over the weekend, saying that it’s easy to see why unions have performed so poorly under Democratic leadership. 

“Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO, represented his union poorly on television this weekend,” Trump tweeted, referencing Trumka’s appearance on “Fox News Sunday” in which he repeatedly criticized the president. 

{mosads}”Some of the things he said were so [against] the working men and women of our country, and the success of the U.S. itself, that it is easy to see why unions are doing so poorly. A Dem!” 

Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO, represented his union poorly on television this weekend. Some of the things he said were so againt the working men and women of our country, and the success of the U.S. itself, that it is easy to see why unions are doing so poorly. A Dem!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2018

The comments from Trump came just a day after Trumka said that Trump has done more to harm workers than support them. 

“He hasn’t come up with an infrastructure program that could put a lot of us back to work,” Trumka said. “He overturned a regulation that would deny over 5 million overtime that they would’ve had. He overturned some health and safety regulations that will hurt us on the job.”

He added that the union keeps “trying to find areas where we can work with him.”

Trump later tweeted “The Worker in America is doing better than ever before. Celebrate Labor Day!”

The Worker in America is doing better than ever before. Celebrate Labor Day!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2018

Trumka has praised Trump in the past for his stance on U.S. trade policies, but has also called the president a disappointment, charging that Trump has “used his office to actively hurt working people.”

Fox News host Chris Wallace also pressed Trumka on the state of the economy, pointing to low unemployment numbers and suggesting that Trump deserved credit.

“Those are good, but wages have been down since the first of the year,” Trumka said. “Gas prices have been up since the first year. So overall, workers aren’t doing as well.”

Trumka’s weekend criticism is tied to Trump’s recent announcement that he would cancel a 2.1 percent raise for federal employees — a decision that has given rise to criticism from both GOP and Democratic lawmakers. 

Virginia Republican Senate candidate Corey Stewart was one of the multiple GOP candidates to slam Trump’s federal pay freeze announcement, saying that “these workers need and deserve a pay raise.”

Trump appeared to signal that a pay raise for federal workers could still be in the works while speaking at a ceremony in North Carolina on Friday afternoon. Trump said he’d take a “good hard look” at the issue over the weekend, according to a White House transcript. 

Updated at 9:25 a.m.