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Inside Politics

Teamsters Not Endorsing Either Candidate In Presidential Race; Tonight: Oprah Rallies For Harris In Battleground Michigan; Trapped NASA Astronauts Will Cast Their Ballots From Space. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired September 19, 2024 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[12:32:19]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: In a big blow for Kamala Harris, the Teamsters announced yesterday that they will not endorse her this year. They aren't endorsing Donald Trump either. This is the first time since 1996 that the union is withholding its endorsement.

Joining me now is the president of the Teamsters, Sean O'Brien. Thank you so much for being here. I want to go back to the announcement. You said neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before big business.

You met with Vice President Harris this week on Tuesday. What commitments were you looking for from her that she did not provide?

SEAN O'BRIEN, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS: Well, one biggest commitment is we want our members a commitment that the government will not interfere or try and impede our right to strike in any collective bargaining situations we're in. In 2022, our rail railroad workers were forced into a contract and they were not happy about it.

So under the Railway Labor Act, we want to make certain moving forward that those commitments are met. We asked about people that are currently in the administration that have been good working with us. We couldn't get commitments on that either.

So, Donald Trump, when he came in, he couldn't commit to vetoing national right to work. So there are a lot of issues that are important to our members, that are important to our organization as an international, that we couldn't get commitments on. You know, we got -- couldn't get commitments on the PRO Act from President Trump and then couldn't -- you know, so those are the important issues that are important to us.

BASH: Just real quick, you mentioned that the rail strike and the fact that the Biden administration got involved. Maybe this is hard to answer, but if Joe Biden were still at the top of the ticket, do you think the non-endorsement would still be the case, I mean, if you would have endorsed him? O'BRIEN: Look, I mean, there's no running from the fact that Joe Biden was the most pro-union president. He passed legislation to fix 300 pension funds, and I am truly appreciative of it. And that was a problem that was created by legislation in 1980 that put tremendous strain on these pension funds.

So it's a problem that we create, they created, and they finally fixed, and we're grateful for it. But, you know, Joe Biden wasn't polling all well either. Remember, Joe Biden was in the race, and we polled, and he was polling about 34 percent with our members.

BASH: Got it. All right, I want to ask you about something that New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pointed out. And that is that the Teamsters and other labor organizations rely on Democrats to achieve key policy goals.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D), NEW YORK: And at the end of the day, we know that when the Teamsters are in trouble, who do they call. When we need to make sure that Teamsters pensions are bailed out, and we need to make sure that they're -- that they have a fair shake at the negotiating table with rail. It was Sean O'Brien calling Democrats for help.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

[12:35:07]

BASH: So just building on that, you mentioned a little bit of this, but I'll just give you -- give even more details to our viewers. No Republicans in the Senate supported the bill that bailed out approximately 600,000 pensions for the Teamsters.

Kamala Harris cast the tiebreaking vote. No Republicans currently support the PRO Act. If Democrats are the ones that consistently not to support your legislative priorities, but pass them into law, why are you refusing to endorse and give her the really key boots on the ground grassroots in a 50-50 race?

O'BRIEN: Well, I just may want to clean up a couple of things that are inconsistent with the Congresswoman stated that the President of the United States, along with the former Secretary of Labor, was calling the Teamsters for help to try and settle it because they were afraid that if a rail strike happened that it would throw the country into a recession.

We were not calling on the administration. We were calling on the administration to stay out of it. And I've quoted this many times, that my neighborhood that I grew up in, which you're familiar with in Boston, if two people are having a disagreement, you have nothing to do with it, you keep on walking. So that statement's inconsistent.

Now, she has to remember that, you know, there is a clear divide, especially in Teamster members, between the Democrats and the Republicans. And instead of trying to pick a fight with labor leaders who listen to their members and embrace their members opinions, she should maybe get into her district, where it voted, far Republican, far-right Republican, and maybe find out what the problem is.

When I have a problem in a worksite, and there is criticism, I get right in there and find out what that problem is --

BASH: What do you mean voted far-right Republican? She's --

O'BRIEN: Well, in our polling --

BASH: --she's a Democrat.

O'BRIEN: In our polling --

BASH: Oh, you mean among Teamsters.

O'BRIEN: In our polling, New York, her district, voted overwhelmingly Republican to support --

BASH: OK.

O'BRIEN: -- former President Trump. So she may want to focus on her job instead of mine.

BASH: I want to ask a little bit more about that polling, if it is accurate, it would mean that almost 60 percent of your members do prefer former President Trump over Vice President Harris. But I just want to give a small sample of Donald Trump's record on union issues.

He appointed Supreme Court justices that were part of major decisions going against unions. He appoints the -- to the NLRB, people who consistently rule against labor. He visited a non-union auto plant while the UAW was striking and encouraged union members to boycott their dues. And you, of course, remember last month when he was on with Elon Musk praising Musk for firing striking workers, you called him -- you called that economic terrorism.

And, you know, you do have, I understand that there is some split, but you do have people like James Curbeam who is the head of the Teamsters Black Caucus saying that what you have done is chosen not to stand up to a bully and an anti-union candidate and not endorsing Kamala Harris.

O'BRIEN: Yes, James Curbeam, you know, he's -- he represents a certain group that's not affiliated directly with the Teamsters Union. And, you know, look, I criticize President Trump, I'll criticize anybody that attacks labor, crosses picket lines, or whatever else, and this was not an endorsement for the Republican Party.

This is a wakeup call that the system is broken, if far -- it's far too long that the Democratic Party, and I'm a Democrat, has, just got their way. We need to hold them accountable. But this is an opportunity as well for both parties to take a hard look. The Democrats refocus and say, something's wrong. We've got to recapture American workers. What do we need to do?

And this is an opportunity for publics who claim they want to be the working party for American workers to prove that they can do that by supporting the PRO Act and passing the PRO Act and help develop a PRO Act. Our goal in this whole thing is to work bipartisan and get things done for working people.

And look, as far as schoolyard bullies go, my record's proven. We've had 227 strikes since my administration. We've won a historic contract, largest collective bargaining agreement because of our members. And we're going to continue to do that.

People can call names. That's what's wrong with this whole process. People get so personal instead of trying to fix a problem and find some collaboration to effectuate some change that's needed in this country.

BASH: Sean O'Brien, president of the Teamsters, thank you so much for being here. I appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

BASH: And up next, a famous philosopher once said, use what you have to run toward your best. That philosopher is, of course, Oprah Winfrey. And tonight, Kamala Harris hopes she brings her best, when they reunite for a campaign event in a crucial state. We're going to discuss after a quick break.

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[12:44:19]

OPRAH WINFREY, TV HOST & PRODUCER: Let us choose joy!

(APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: Because that's the best of America. But more than anything else, let us choose freedom. Why? Because that's the best of America. We're all Americans. And together, let's all choose Kamala Harris.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: Oprah Winfrey going full Oprah there. She's probably going to be similar today when she is going to be campaigning in Michigan with Vice President Harris. Harris will participate in a massive virtual rally hosted by that media icon and in collaboration with a group known as Win With Black Women.

[12:45:09]

Meanwhile, a source tells CNN that the Harris campaign has hired an entertainment surrogates outreach manager, that is a very specific job, to help with coordinating celebrity engagements.

Here to discuss is Jordan Brown, founder of the consulting firm One Blue Hill, and a veteran of the Obama campaigns where he helped engage celebrity surrogate. So that's not you. You're not getting that job.

JORDAN C. BROWN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I'm not. No.

BASH: Yes.

BROWN: That'll be somebody who's about 21 years old and a technical genius.

BASH: OK. Well, aren't you those things?

BROWN: No.

BASH: Let's talk about just, I guess I want to start with Oprah. And I do think that -- and you can disagree with me, I mean, yes, she's obviously a huge celebrity.

BROWN: Yes.

BASH: But when it comes to the Oprah effect, it's much more than that.

BROWN: She is, in many ways, I think, the moral conscience of the country. I mean, I know that might sound like an exaggeration, but there are tens of millions of people who she got through hard times in their lives, they went on these journeys with her, on, you know, their book club or losing weight.

And I was in the room for that speech and I thought it was the best speech of the convention. And she was making the point that, you know, she said only in America could Oprah Winfrey exist, which I thought was really powerful. And so she expressed real gratitude for this country. But she also said, I'm worried it's slipping away.

And do we want to be the kind of country where an incest survivor whose 11 years old is forced to give birth, clutching a teddy bear? I don't want to live in that country.

BASH: It's interesting because when you hear my way of life is slipping away, it's a very different context and connotation when you're hearing it from the other side of the aisle.

BROWN: Absolutely.

BASH: Yes.

BROWN: Yes, I think it's, you know, fear of outsiders on the other side, on this side, it's, you know, we've worked so hard to expand rights and let's keep expanding instead of contracting.

BASH: So celebrity coordinator -- OK, so I'm just going to throw a dose of skepticism and big question, like, is it -- is that really necessary? Is it just because there are so many --

BROWN: Yes.

BASH: -- that want -- that they need to figure out where to deploy them? Explain since you kind of did that job.

BROWN: Yes, so this is the fifth general election campaign I've worked on from L.A. And I think what's really changed is social media. So you used to have just, you know, big stars that would go to rallies or go to battleground states and now you have hundreds of digital creators who have smaller audiences but they can communicate with them in much more interesting ways that are more immediate and infusing messaging.

So you're seeing both the Trump campaign and the Harris campaign making candidate time available, which is a precious resource to these digital creators. So, in my mind, the power of the digital creators has now eclipsed sort of the, you know, traditional Hollywood star, at least for the purposes of like reaching voters with specific messaging that could move them.

BASH: Except maybe Taylor Swift.

BROWN: I mean, she and Oprah, I think, are the two that are really in a league of their own. Yes.

BASH: And what are your thoughts on the, I hate Taylor Swift of it all from Donald Trump and how this is getting into his head. And more importantly, since you have worked on so many campaigns and you've seen the effect, and in many cases, the non-effect --

BROWN: Yes.

BASH: -- of celebrities of the Taylor Swift.

BROWN: He's so easy to read. And I think we saw that with vice president Harris in the debate, he's so jealous. He wanted the -- you know, the biggest star in the way he cares about fame more than anything, he wanted that endorsement.

And so I think what was genius about what Taylor did is she didn't -- she said who she's voting for, and then she said, do your own research, what matters to you. Register to vote and figure out who you're going to vote for.

BASH: But do you think it's going to have more of an effect than your average celebrity in real life?

BROWN: Yes, yes, because I think, you know, everything has an effect because, you know, it's such an insane system with the Electoral College, and we're a country of 300 something million people. And really, it's true, there are a couple hundred thousand people in these five or six states that decide our fate. And they're the most heavily targeted people in the history of politics.

And, you know, Elon Musk is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on them. Digital creators are targeting them through both sides, Super PACs. So Taylor Swift registering a few, tens of thousands of new voters in those states, absolutely. BASH: Jordan Brown, thank you so much. It was great to talk to you.

BROWN: Thanks, Dana, for having me.

BASH: Good to see you. Nice to be here in L.A.

BROWN: Thanks.

BASH: Coming up, no gravity, no problem. We'll tell you how astronauts, yes astronauts, trapped in space are actually going to cast their ballots this election after the break.

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[12:53:59]

BASH: NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were not expecting to be 200 miles above Earth on election day, but they're not letting that get in the way of their right to vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BUTCH WILMORE, ASTRONAUT VOTING FROM SPACE: I sent down my request for a ballot today. As a matter of fact, and they should get it to us in a couple of weeks. And absolutely, yes, it's a very important role that we all play as citizens is to be included in those elections. And NASA makes it very easy for us to do that. So we're excited about that opportunity.

SUNI WILLIAMS, ASTRONAUT VOTING FROM SPACE: It's a very important duty that we have as citizens and looking forward to being able to vote from space, which is pretty cool.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: I'll say. CNN's Kristin Fisher joins me now. How is that actually going to happen, Kristin?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, so, Dana, first you have to make it legal to vote for space, and NASA actually did that back in 1997. NASA astronaut David Wolf became the first American to vote from space in '97, and he actually did it aboard the Russian Mir space station of all places.

BASH: Wow.

FISHER: It's now defunct.

[12:55:03]

So, after they did that, multiple NASA astronauts have since voted for space. Butch and Suni will be next, and now you got to get to the technical side of things, right? Like technically, how do you vote from space? Well, it starts with a good old fashioned encrypted word document. Butch and Suni will input their selections for who they want to be the next president of the United States. They will then upload that encrypted document to the computers on the International Space Station. They will then take that ballot, like all other electronic data from the space station, beam it to a NASA satellite, and then an antenna at NASA White Sands ground terminal will receive it.

They will then send it to NASA's Mission Control in Houston, Texas, and Mission Control will get it to the Harris County clerk, which will then submit their ballots on Earth 200 miles below Butch and Suni. Dana?

BASH: Unbelievable. Harris County, of course, in Houston, Texas.

FISHER: Of course.

BASH: That is a terrific, terrific nugget and a terrific story.

Kristin, thank you so much for bringing it to us.

Thank you for joining Inside Politics today. CNN News Central will start after the break.