What has the Democrats’ rhetoric about “democracy being on the ballot” this fall gotten them? If a visit to a union hall in Michigan is any indication, it’s stirred up a whole lot of hate among those who were already in the fold — but little else.
One MSNBC host found this out the hard way when she went to visit voters who could decide the election: blue-collar Michigan workers.
Alex Wagner, one of the network’s nightly hosts, traveled to Local 85 of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry, or the UA for short, in Saginaw, Michigan, earlier this week for what she called a “field trip” on Instagram.
In the post, she said she was there “to get the scoop on what union workers think of the coming election (and who they think is gonna win it).”
Spoiler alert: If the Biden-Harris team keeps on putting out messages like this, all it will do is encourage more nutcases to attempt election-related violence, not win over undecided working-class Americans.
Democracy and freedom are on the ballot this November.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 22, 2024
In one clip, Wagner asks one of the members of UA Local 85 his thoughts about the Capitol incursion, which he incorrectly identified as happening on “Feb. 6” — not the hallowed date of doom that is Jan. 6. One is surprised MSNBC didn’t have someone standing by with tomatoes to pelt this shameless deplorable with for failing the test, but that doesn’t make for good optics, as they say.
Do you care about January 6th?
“I’m not familiar with the charges that are brought against him for that,” the union member said. “I’m not following that charge or — I know there are multiple court cases going on, I’m not familiar with it.”
“I mean, that doesn’t seem to be a factor in deciding who to vote for,” Wagner said as a follow-up.
“No,” the man responded.
We moved on to another union member: “When I say Jan. 6, what do you think?” Wagner asked.
“I just remember seeing it on the news,” the second member said. “All the riots and stuff. Don’t really know what it was about or what happened, though.”
“How did it make you feel when you saw it?” Wagner probed.
“I don’t know, I don’t really feel any way about it,” he responded. “I mean, people showed their emotion, I guess.”
The official Trump War Room account on X made sure to put the clip on blast, noting that “Michigan union members aren’t voting based on bogus lawfare. They know that President Trump told supporters to march ‘peacefully and patriotically.’
“They’re voting based on the economy – and President Trump wins that argument all day every day!”
Michigan union members aren’t voting based on bogus lawfare. They know that President Trump told supporters to march “peacefully and patriotically.”
They’re voting based on the economy – and President Trump wins that argument all day every day! pic.twitter.com/1DqH2SxVuT
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 25, 2024
Wagner supporters on Instagram had a different take, as you might imagine.
“Watching this interview was sad. The VP Harris, needs to get out and speak with these union workers,” one respondent said.
“Some of those people seem to only work their union jobs that the Biden administration has fought for. I wish people would realize we’re are still under the orange guy’s terrible economy.”
Ah, yes. The old “you don’t know how good you have it under the Democrats, plebes!” argument, which somehow hasn’t gained as much traction as the Alex Wagners and Matthew Yglesiases of the media world seem to think it should have.
So, what’s the fallback? It’s Trump’s economy! Which, um, doesn’t really make sense until you realize that what decimated the economy was 1) the pandemic and 2) the lingering pandemic lockdowns. One of those wasn’t preventable, one of them was. Guess which one was, and guess which party was responsible? Telling people “we’re are [sic] still under the orange guy’s terrible economy” three-and-a-half years after the Biden administration took office isn’t a viable option?
So, plan C? Democracy is under attack. Which, um. Good luck with that, based on this clip. Union workers don’t believe Trump is a threat to democracy, but they do believe the government can be a threat to the economy.
On that level, Trump has the marked advantage. That’s something that should keep the Harris campaign up at night.
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