Obama’s auto task force head rips Biden for joining UAW picket line

Steven Rattner, the head of former President Obama’s auto industry task force, called President Biden’s visit to Michigan and a United Auto Workers (UAW) picket line “outrageous” in a Wednesday interview.

“For him to be going on a picket line is outrageous,” Rattner, a former journalist who later worked in private equity, said in an interview with NBC News. “There’s no precedent for it. The tradition of the president is to stay neutral in these things.”

Biden joined striking UAW members Tuesday in Michigan after a back-and-forth if he would, and should, go.

Biden’s trip showed a display of support for unions and marked the first time a sitting president attended a picket line. Biden has been both pro-union and pro-electric vehicle, which — among advocating for better pay and benefits — is a large reason why the autoworkers are striking.

Former President Trump has a visit to Michigan planned for Wednesday, skipping the second GOP presidential primary debate.

Rattner, who worked for the Obama administration on the government program to help U.S. automakers survive the 2009 financial crisis, said he understands the politics behind the visit. Michigan is one of several key states that will help determine the next president.

“I get the politics. The progressives all said, ‘We don’t want a mediator; we want an advocate,’” Rattner said. “And he bowed to the progressives, and now he’s going out there to put his thumb on the scale. And it’s wrong.”

In discussing his support for the UAW, Biden mentioned the 2009 crisis and argued that labor offered concessions at the time that helped keep the U.S. automakers solvent.

Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain joined MSNBC Tuesday to respond to the criticism of Biden’s visit.

“You know, he says, ‘Wall Street didn’t build this country … middle class built this country and unions built the middle class,’” Klain said. “That’s what Joe Biden believes in the core of his being.”

The UAW has yet to endorse Biden in the 2024 election, but UAW President Shawn Fain greeted Biden on the tarmac Tuesday and stood with him at the picket line.