Teamsters President Sean O'Brien tried to sell bipartisanship to the RNC, but all he did was legitimize Trump, critics say

Sean O'Brien was the first union president to speak at the RNC. His speech caused controversy among his fellow union members.

• Teamsters President Sean O'Brien spoke at the RNC — a first for the union.
• O'Brien's message aimed to foster bipartisan cooperation toward labor goals.
• Critics argued that O'Brien's speech legitimized Trump's anti-union record.

Even before Teamsters President Sean O'Brien made a historic move on Monday by being the first president of the union to speak at the Republican National Convention, fellow members were upset by him getting cozy with Donald Trump.

In a scathing op-ed published July 10, Teamsters Vice President at Large John Palmer said O'Brien's appearance "regardless of the message, only normalizes and makes the most anti-union party and President I've seen in my lifetime seem palatable."

And in January, when O'Brien met with Trump, James Curbeam, the national chairman of the Teamsters National Black Caucus, called the former president a "scab masquerading as a pro-union advocate," The New York Times reported.

Amid scrutiny from his union members and some right-wing anti-union groups at the RNC, O'Brien made it clear his goal of speaking at the convention was to invite bipartisan cooperation in achieving the labor movement's goals.

"The Teamsters are here to say we are not beholden to anyone or any party," O'Brien declared onstage in front of hundreds of delegates and the former president himself.

Although O'Brien may have had good intentions in trying to uphold his union's interests, nationally syndicated radio host and Teamster member Rick Smith said O'Brien was the Republican Party's "dancing show pony that they're gonna ride to the election."

Smith told Business Insider that he agreed with much of what O'Brien said onstage: In a room full of conservatives, the union boss railed against the US Chamber of Commerce and The Business Roundtable, "corporatists," and "greedy employers." But O'Brien also applauded Trump, calling the former president "a candidate who is not afraid of hearing from new, loud and often critical voices."

"The problem is none of those people in that room care," Smith said. "They knew why O'Brien was there. He was there to legitimize Trump's horrible record."

Smith said O'Brien also sent a message that "both sides suck for workers," which Smith said is untrue. He pointed out, for example, Biden putting billions toward bailing out the Teamster's pension fund in 2022.

"Going into the RNC and saying 'everybody sucks and it's all bad' was of kind of a slap in the face, considering Joe Biden bailed out the Teamsters pension fund, considering that Donald Trump's record was so bad, and Joe Biden's has been very good," Smith said.

O'Brien and the Teamsters have continued to defend his decision to speak at the right-wing convention.

"The Teamsters have never been afraid of democracy, but self-interested ideologues — on the left and the right, within and outside the union — are terrified of democracy," Teamsters spokeswoman Kara Deniz previously told the Times.

Smith said that in the case of bipartisanship, "every time we have some bipartisanship, it's working people who take it on the chin." Instead, he said, O'Brien's appeal to the Republican Party will divide workers.

"In a time when we have unprecedented interest in people joining and forming unions, this kind of division in the labor movement, I don't think it's helpful. This kind of platforming of someone destructive is not helpful," Smith said.

The Teamsters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.