UAW chief and other board members have concerns about Biden’s ability to beat Trump, source says

(CNN) — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and other members of the union’s board have expressed concerns about President Joe Biden’s ability to beat Donald Trump in November, a source close to the union says.

The union is discussing the way forward on how to beat Trump in November, but the group is not considering rescinding its endorsement of Biden at this time, the source added.

The doubts come as Biden is facing growing worries about his ability to beat his predecessor in the presidential election, after a disastrous performance at last month’s CNN presidential debate raised fresh questions about his age and his mental acuity.

Reuters was first to report Fain’s concerns. When a reporter at a Thursday press conference raised the UAW’s concerns, the president responded, “The UAW just endorsed me.”

“There’s a long way to go this campaign,” the president later added. “I’m just gonna keep moving.”

Biden now is working to shore up support within the labor community. The president spent about 30 minutes at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, describing the group of union leaders as his “domestic NATO.” After Biden’s drop-by, the group met privately for some time, including hearing from campaign officials.

Fain, a vocal Trump critic, is a member of the AFL-CIO’s executive council, which on Wednesday announced it “unanimously voted to reaffirm its commitment to re-electing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the leadership of the most pro-union administration in our lifetimes.”

The UAW formally endorsed Biden in January after months of White House overtures to the union chief. The endorsement was seen as a major boon for Biden as he looked to court working class voters in swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin.

The president is set to visit Michigan on Friday as he pushes forward with his campaign in the face of deep reservations within his party over his ability to win in November.

A union spokesperson declined to comment on the Reuters report.

A growing list of prominent Democrats, including sitting senators and members of Congress as well as actor and fundraiser George Clooney, have called for Biden to step aside for a new party nominee for November.

In a statement Wednesday, the day Biden visited the group, the AFL-CIO executive council said in a statement: “The labor movement understands, as Joe Biden does, that solidarity is how we win. The message from today’s meeting couldn’t have been clearer: Right now, it’s time to come together around a vision of a country where everyone has a fair shot with a living wage, affordable health care, retirement security, and time to do the things we love like spending time with family and friends and pursuing our interests and passions.”

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler sought to show a united front after the president’s drop-by, posting a photo on X and writing “He believes in unions – and we believe in him.”

Biden arrived at the AFL-CIO headquarters shortly after actor George Clooney called for the president to step aside in the 2024 race in a New York Times op-ed. While meeting with the new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval Office hours later, the president was peppered with questions from reporters about Clooney’s statement, to which he raised his arms and replied “AFL-CIO! Go, go go!”

The president has won the backing of most of the country’s largest union groups at a time when Trump has also sought to make inroads with rank-and-file members.

“I said I was going to be the most pro union president in American history, well guess what I am,” Biden said Wednesday. “And I’m staying there.”

CNN’s Chris Isidore contributed reporting.

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