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EDITORIAL: Kamala Harris BLOWS UP Trump's Hollow Populism

But Will Republican Voters Still be Fooled?

Aug 25

Donald Trump often tries to present himself as a champion of the working class, but his actions tell a different story. While he cultivates a pseudo-populist image among Republican voters, his policies consistently favor billionaires and corporations over the workers he claims to represent. A glaring example of this is his choice of JD Vance as his running mate.

Vance, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist with ties to billionaire Peter Thiel, opposed the PRO Act, a critical piece of labor protection legislation. His short but revealing Senate record shows a pattern of opposing key labor laws, supporting measures that would weaken unions, and rejecting pro-worker nominees to federal agencies. Despite his attempts to fashion himself as an Appalachian populist, Vance’s background—a Yale law degree and deep ties to Silicon Valley—contrasts sharply with his working-class facade.

The rise of figures like Vance within the GOP signals a broader shift in the party, where so-called "Millennial populists" like Vance and Senator Josh Hawley claim to champion workers while pushing policies labor leaders denounce as anti-union and pro-corporate. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler describes the Trump-Vance ticket as “a corporate CEO’s dream and a worker’s nightmare.” Trump managed to convince many voters in 2016 that he was pro-worker, and he might try to do it again. But a closer look at his record, along with the policies outlined in Project 2025, reveals that he is anything but.

Trump’s War on Unions

Earlier this month, Trump joined Elon Musk for an interview on Twitter Spaces, where he praised Musk for his willingness to fire employees who go out on strike. “You’re the greatest cutter,” Trump told Musk. The following day, UAW President Shawn Fain filed a federal lawsuit against Trump and Musk, noting that threatening to fire workers for striking is illegal under federal labor law. Fain stated, “Donald Trump will always side against workers standing up for themselves, and he will always side with billionaires like Elon Musk.”

This incident is not just another example of Trump brazenly undermining labor rights; it also completely undercuts his recent appeals to labor. Last month, Teamsters President Sean O'Brien gave a primetime speech during the RNC, the first time a union leader has ever addressed the convention. O’Brien praised Trump and Vance for “the courage to sit down and consider points of view that aren’t funded by big money think tanks” while criticizing "economic terrorism" like Right to Work laws in GOP-run states. Some praised Trump for making overtures to organized labor, but others feared he was simply using O’Brien as a prop to legitimize an anti-labor Republican agenda.

With Trump’s recent comments in the Musk interview, these fears seem confirmed. O’Brien strongly rebuked Trump’s remarks, calling firing workers for organizing or striking “economic terrorism.” When asked to respond to O’Brien’s comments, Vance doubled down, defending Trump’s remarks, which likely alienates the Teamsters leadership who spoke at the RNC but have yet to endorse a presidential candidate.

Trump is not necessarily counting on their endorsement. As The Washington Post reports, Trump has urged CEOs to make large donations at multiple fundraisers this year because unions are giving significant funds to Democrats, confirming that Trump is more interested in catering to the needs of corporations and billionaires than he is in representing the needs of organized labor.

If Trump’s rhetoric and actions weren’t enough to expose his anti-labor stance, a close look at Project 2025 should leave no doubt.

Project 2025

While Trump claims to represent "all the forgotten men and women," Project 2025 tells a different story. The labor section of Project 2025 focuses on boosting corporate profits and weakening unions rather than improving wages or working conditions.

Project 2025 proposes reducing the number of workers eligible for overtime and is openly hostile to unions, even suggesting the dissolution of public sector unions, including those for police, firefighters, and teachers. Trump’s playbook is filled with plans to roll back workers' rights, from curbing the right to organize to gutting protections against child labor.

The plan is packed with proposals designed to cut labor costs for corporations, such as repealing the Davis-Bacon Act, changing overtime pay rules, and offering compensatory time instead of time-and-a-half pay for overtime. Project 2025 also aims to weaken unions by making it easier for workers to decertify their unions, banning project labor agreements, rescinding the Persuader Rule, and preventing the NLRB from treating franchisors as joint employers.

One of the overarching themes in Project 2025 is the desire to reduce the power of the federal administrative state. However, in labor matters, it seeks to increase the Department of Labor’s power when it comes to overseeing unions and worker centers—organizations often at odds with the Heritage Foundation’s corporate supporters.

Project 2025 contains no proposals to strengthen workers' voices or make it easier to unionize. It doesn't support allowing the NLRB to fine companies that violate labor laws, a key provision of the PRO Act. Instead, the plan's labor section opens with a religious statement that quickly pivots to culture war issues, targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the workplace. The entire chapter on labor only includes one single recommendation to raise workers' pay, suggesting overtime pay for work on the Sabbath, based on religious grounds.

Despite its claims of supporting family-friendly policies, Project 2025 offers nothing to help workers balance work and family life, revealing that Trump’s pro-labor rhetoric is hollow. However, Trump continues to promote one policy that sounds pro-worker but is misleading: his "No Tax On Tips" proposal.

No Tax On Tips vs. Minimum Wage: A False Promise

Trump’s proposal to eliminate federal taxes on tips is an attempt to appeal to working-class voters like waiters, bartenders, and hairdressers. The proposal is so popular that even Kamala Harris has embraced it, with many on the right accusing her of “stealing” Trump’s policy.

Although this policy sounds pro-worker, it actually benefits businesses more than workers. Many tipped workers, who often earn very low wages, already pay little or no federal income tax. The majority of servers, except for the top 10% who make over $60,000 annually, would see negligible or no benefit from this policy.

Meanwhile, the federal tipped minimum wage has been stuck at $2.13 an hour since 1991. Even with tips, these workers are only guaranteed a minimum of $7.25 an hour, far from a living wage in 2024. The National Restaurant Association backs the No Tax On Tips policy because it could undermine state efforts to raise the minimum wage.

Labor groups like Restaurant Workers United (RWU) oppose the No Tax On Tips policy for precisely this reason, arguing that it distracts from the real issue of uplifting low-wage workers. Unlike Trump, Harris has also committed to raising the minimum wage for hourly workers, though she hasn’t specified by how much.

If implemented alongside a minimum wage increase, the No Tax On Tips policy could provide a modest boost to service workers. However, it should not be seen as a replacement for a broader and more impactful minimum wage hike. There's concern that both Trump and Harris might use this proposal as a way to placate workers instead of pushing for a meaningful wage increase.

How Kamala Harris Can Offer a Meaningful Alternative

Despite his history of pro-corporate policies, Trump is still seen by many as a working-class hero. Kamala Harris needs to break through this narrative by offering a genuine alternative that truly benefits workers.

Kamala’s choice of Tim Walz as her running mate is a smart move against Trump and signals that she’s serious about delivering real results for working people. Walz, known for his viral moments calling out Trump and JD Vance as “weird,” brings a proven track record of progressive victories that could be a game-changer in this election.

In 2022, Walz achieved a legislative trifecta with a 34-33 Senate majority and just a six-vote edge in the House, a slimmer Democratic majority than Biden had at the beginning of his term. Under Walz’s leadership, Minnesota passed groundbreaking legislation that:

• Cut child poverty by a third with a sizable child tax credit.

• Introduced universal free school meals.

• Guaranteed free tuition at public colleges for students from families earning less than $80,000 per year.

• Boosted K-12 spending by $2.3 billion.

• Passed a $15 minimum wage, secured 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, and introduced regulations to improve conditions in Amazon warehouses and meatpacking plants.

• Passed S.F. 3035, the most significant worker protection legislation in Minnesota’s history.

Walz’s labor-friendly approach earned him the backing of 26 Minnesota labor leaders and praise from UAW President Shawn Fain. His selection is expected to solidify support among working-class voters in key battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Walz’s success in Minnesota serves as a blueprint for a national pro-worker agenda, positioning the Harris-Walz ticket as a genuine alternative to Trump’s hollow populism. While red state governors focus on culture wars—cracking down on “woke” books, drag queens, reproductive freedom, and even lab-grown meat—Walz has delivered tangible benefits for working families.

The Harris-Walz ticket must highlight these successes as a blueprint for a national pro-worker agenda. By focusing on real economic improvements and meaningful support for workers, Harris can offer a compelling alternative to Trump’s union busting and demonstrate that her administration would truly be on the side of the working class.