The United Auto Workers (UAW) Union filed federal labor charges against former President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The union alleges that both figures engaged in behavior intended to threaten and intimidate workers regarding their right to strike.
UAW President Shawn Fain criticized both Trump and Musk, saying, “They want working-class people to be quiet and they laugh about it. It’s disgusting, illegal, and just what you’d expect from these two.”
What did Trump and Musk say?
The charges follow a social media exchange on platform X, where Trump and Musk discussed workers striking from their jobs.
During the two-hour conversation, Trump praised Musk for his handling of strike threats, saying, “You’re the greatest cutter. I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in, you just say: ‘You want to quit?’ They go on strike – I won’t mention the name of the company – but they go on strike. And you say: ‘That’s okay, you’re all gone.'”
According to the UAW, such threats are illegal under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which protects workers from being fired for striking. The union contends that Trump’s and Musk’s comments violate federal labor laws by attempting to undermine workers’ rights to strike.
The UAW, which has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in her presidential campaign, highlighted its recent engagement with Harris during her visit to Detroit.
The charges come as the UAW works to organize Tesla workers and backs Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 election. While Trump’s comments have faced criticism, Musk, who supports Trump, simply laughed at them without addressing them directly.
The next step is for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to review the charges and decide if an investigation is needed. If violations are found, the NLRB could impose penalties on Trump and Musk.
Trump and Musk interview
Donald Trump spent nearly an hour discussing the recent assassination attempt, despite his previous vow never to address it again. In a conversation with Elon Musk on Tuesday, Trump elaborated on how a bullet narrowly missed him during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
At last month’s Republican National Convention, Trump had shared the harrowing experience, declaring it would be his only recounting of the event. He assured the crowd that he would never speak of it again.
However, Trump broke his promise during his discussion with Musk, stating, “It was a miracle. If I hadn’t turned my head, I would not be talking to you right now, as much as I like you.”
“It was a hard hit. It was very, I guess you would say, surreal, but it wasn’t surreal. You know, I was telling somebody, you have instances like this… where you feel it’s a surreal situation. And I never felt that way. I knew immediately that it was a bullet,” Trump said before elaborating the entire incident.
Trump’s interview with Elon Musk on X plagued by glitches
Trump’s live interview on X, the social platform from which he was banned for nearly two years, was plagued with technical issues with many users unable to access the conversation. The conversation began 41 minutes after its initial start time.
Trump and Musk chatted on a variety of issues, with much of Trump’s responses mirroring some of the multitopic stem-winding that’s typical of his rallies and speeches. That included anecdotes about his interactions with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as critiques on what both men characterized as Democrats’ failures in securing the U.S.-Mexico border and tamping down crime in American cities.
There was also a specific discussion of Harris, with both Trump and Musk warning of the direction into which they felt she would lead the U.S. as president.
Trump says the illustration of Harris looks like Melania
Trump likened the recent Time magazine cover illustration of Harris to another highly visible woman adjacent to American politics: his own wife.
“She looked very much like our great first lady, Melania,” Trump told Musk, as they discussed the cover image of Monday’s issue.
Time’s new cover story on Harris features the phrase, “Her Moment,” alongside a black-and-white illustration of the vice president.
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