US President Joe Biden on Wednesday won a coveted election endorsement from America's largest auto workers' union, a major boost to the Democrat's battle against Donald Trump for the crucial blue-collar vote.
Democrat Biden has been courting the union vote hard and appeared at a United Auto Workers (UAW) protest last year during a strike against America's big three auto giants.
"Our approval must be earned." Joe Biden deserved it,” UAW chief Sean Fein told a jubilant crowd at a Washington conference before Biden took the stage wearing a black union baseball cap.
Fein said Trump wants to "screw the American working class." Union members booed when Trump's name was mentioned and chanted "Joe!" when Fein asked who they preferred for president after the November election.
"I've got your back and you've got mine," Biden told the crowd.
But his speech was briefly interrupted for the second day in a row when a small number of protesters against Israel's war on Gaza began chanting before being ushered out of the hall by security. About a dozen pro-Palestinian supporters chanting slogans accusing Biden of "genocide" had gathered outside the building where the conference was being held.
All this happened a day after protesters repeatedly interrupted Biden's speech on the issue of abortion.
The UAW called for a cease-fire in Gaza in December, becoming the largest U.S. union to take such a position. That put him at odds with Biden, who has staunchly supported Israel since the October 7 attacks by Hamas. /BGNES