You Don't Need A Weatherman: Biden, Trump, and the Prevailing Forces

Politicians are subject to pressures and changing times. We're getting a good look at where things are heading.

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On Tuesday, President Joe Biden joined the striking United Auto Workers in Ypsilanti, Michigan and voiced his support. In doing so, he became the first United States president to do so. For a moment, before watching video from the event, I’d like you to consider that fact.

The first President of the United States to join a picket line with a striking union.

I want to be clear about something. I have been critical of Joe Biden. I have issues with his politics, with his record, with his presidency. I have no hesitated, in these past three years, to voice my criticism when I find it warranted. That is how democracy should work. We shouldn’t have sacred cows. We shouldn’t be so partisan or so entrenched in political games that we lose the ability to hold our leaders accountable, that we voice our concerns when necessary and we voice our praise when it is earned.

Biden earns this praise. His appearance with the UAW was a massive deal. He was invited by the union’s president Shawn Fain, a dynamic and critical voice in the developing labor movement, and he answered that call. To be fair, we must also consider why Biden answered that call and made history. Because the answer to that question is everything we need to understand where we are and, more importantly, where we are going.

Again, we must not be afraid of criticizing Biden or the Democratic Party. Their record when it comes to labor unions is spotty, especially in recent decades. There was a time where organized labor was the backbone of the party and the focus was on fairer practices, reforming exploitation, and creating a better environment for working people and families. Organized labor was systematically hamstrung, however, by the forces of capital. In the name of “progress,” and at times in the service of nationalism and war, and always with the usage of fear and paranoia (if you haven’t read my books AMERICAN RULE: HOW A NATION CONQUERED THE WORLD BUT FAILED ITS PEOPLE and THE MIDNIGHT KINGDOM: A HISTORY OF POWER, PARANOIA, AND THE COMING CRISIS yet, check them out and learn exactly how this happened), big business and the wealthy have attacked unions, characterizing them as dangerous and unpatriotic, rendering them largely irrelevant in the national conversation.

The Democratic Party, with the rise of neoliberalism, moved away from organized labor, leaving the unions bereft of allies and leverage. The project of globalism, which freed capital from national borders and transformed the world into an organized smorgasbord of cheap labor, cheap resources, and boundless exploitation, depended on this destruction. While the Republican Party, under Ronald Reagan and others, led the charge, a broad swath of Democrats deserve a share of the blame.

Biden, himself, has had a spotty record. His career has been characterized with rhetorical support of labor owing to his background in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but he has been cautious in actual support. The recent near-railworkers strike last winter was averted when Biden’s administration forbade the action, and workers have felt understandably betrayed.

As I discussed in the most recent episode of THE MUCKRAKE PODCAST, Biden’s move to join the workers now is both to his credit but also a sign that politically there is an advantage, and even an imperative, to showing support. With the UAW workers, not to mention the WGA/SAG strikes and growing energy in the labor movement, the Democratic Party can’t ignore the rift between themselves and organized labor. Obviously, among the base and millions of Americans, there is a desire for exploitation to be met with unified action. It isn’t enough to rhetorically make note of this anymore. Democrats can’t just stand idly by while the situation grows worse and worse as they have for decades. Now, there has to at least be a symbolic support of these actions, and, more importantly, actual muscle behind them.

This doesn’t mean Biden will support the UAW or any other organized labor in the long run. Biden has built his career on measuring which way the wind blows, which explains his often bizarre career. But what we do need to recognize is that sentiment is changing. And by ceasing to look at history through the lens of “great man theory,” or the idea that politicians and leaders are forging their own destinies through their own will, we can begin to understand that they are moved and changed by prevailing forces and sentiment. Here, Biden had little choice politically. In Michigan, especially, where the Democratic Party lost the 2016 Presidential Election, the choice is made for him. The question is whether that momentum will continue to grow, meaning that organized labor, through continued actions and the building of coalitions, can pressure Biden and the Democratic Party to further align themselves with the cause.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump felt similar pressure, but his response was…different.

Facing a myriad of indictments and worsening political and economic conditions, the 45th president traveled to Michigan to defend the turf he claimed in 2016. But he wasn’t welcome. Fain told it like it is, calling Trump a servant of the billionaire class. So Trump did what he always does: he settled for a simulation of solidarity.

In Clinton Township, Trump appeared before a non-union auto shop at the behest of boss Nathan Stemple. For years now Trump has buttered his bread by providing a faux-populism that aesthetically feels like it’s aligned with working people but has actively worked against their interests and in favor of the people who have exploited them to the point where the anger and organized action were earned. Signs were handed out that were meant to make it look like union auto workers supported him, but they were wielded by non-union workers and, in some cases, people who don’t even work in the industry.

Trump’s appeal was carefully crafted, which means he had nothing to do with penning it. He offered “economic nationalism” to the assembled, which has been used as a cudgel against organized labor for over a century now to undermine their interests and spur fealty in the guise of patriotism. Nothing he said was even remotely in favor of these ongoing actions and was meant, predictably to channel actual populist anger into the service of the bosses and wealth class.

It’s all so sadly predictable because we’ve been watching this for years. The most dangerous re-invention on the Right is an old tactic from the fascistic days of old. This faux-populist anger mixed with aggressive, weaponized nationalism is meant to capture developing energies among the working class and redirect them. To confuse, disparage, and capitalize on them. Trump only has so many tricks, but his ascent has been fueled by wealth interests that desperately need a movement like MAGA to carry out their work, much like what we saw with the Tea Party in 2010 and onward. Trump did not muscle his way to power, defining himself at every turn. He is no conquering champion. Like Biden, he is subject to forces beyond himself. It just so happens that he serves the prevailing powers and is one of the most perfectly-suited tools the capitalist class could ever ask for.

Heading into 2024, and truly beyond, organized labor and tensions between the exploited and the exploiters will be among the most important issues. We have reached a point of intractability and deserved tension. We must be aware of this fact while also remaining vigilant of what the Right and the faux-populist movements are attempting to do. Because the powers-that-be recognize the strongest challenge to their interests is taking shape and in a hurry.

It is very likely that the future will be shaped by how this plays out. Whether workers will continue to find solace and power in one another or whether solidarity will be captured and destroyed is a question that could determine everything, particularly at this moment of change and turbulence. And the battle lines are taking shape in a damn hurry.