In offering qualified praise for President Trump’s trade policies, AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka seems to be contradicting his most recent criticisms of the President’s approach.
Although he disagreed with President Trump on imposing tariffs on Canada, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka appeared to be reversing his more recent criticisms of Trump’s approach on trade.
According to the Hill, the AFL-CIO’s Trumka praised President Trump’s trade tariffs, stating the tariffs “are a step in the right direction, saying he believes they can lead to rewriting the rules of global trade.”
“[Trump] understands that’s what should be done,” Trumka said on Wednesday morning, during an event in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “We reject the notion that it’s either free trade or protectionism.”
He added, however, that Trump’s tariffs should be more targeted, saying he didn’t he agree with the decision to levy tariffs on Canada.
The qualified praise of Trump’s controversial trade policies from a labor union federation with deep ties to the Democratic Party is the latest indicator of how Trump is shifting party politics.
Trumka’s praise seems in conflict to Trumka’s earlier statements when he told CBS News that he thought the President was “doing it the wrong way.”
Prior to his recent criticisms, the AFL-CIO boss seemed to whole-heartedly agree with Trump’s approach on tariffs, even stating in mid-July that Trump’s “tariffs are a necessary first step and we are proud to support them.”
