‘Are You Prepared To Fight With Me?’: Biden Calls For Support From Union Bosses At AFL-CIO Convention

President Joe Biden issued a rallying cry to union bosses at the AFL-CIO convention in Philadelphia on Tuesday to take up the “fight” in support of his agenda.

The president delivered a speech on the economy in which he slammed billionaires, blamed Republicans for inflation, and touted his own big government spending policies. He concluded by saying, “I promise you, I am gonna keep fighting for you, are you prepared to fight with me?”

Biden: “I promise you, I am gonna keep fighting for you, are you prepared to fight with me?”pic.twitter.com/8cmeloANLI

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) June 14, 2022

Biden blasted what he decried as the “ultra-MAGA” wing of the Republican Party.

“I believe in bipartisanship. But I have no illusions about this Republican Party…The fact is Republicans in Congress are still in the grip of the ultra-MAGA agenda,” he claimed.

“I believe in bipartisanship. But I have no illusions about this Republican Party…The fact is Republicans in Congress are still in the grip of the ultra-MAGA agenda,” Pres. Biden says during address to AFL-CIO. https://t.co/LbpgLJucQF pic.twitter.com/vrKhqZfpxq

— ABC News (@ABC) June 14, 2022

The president also slammed the number of billionaires created during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While it was going on,” he said in reference to the pandemic, “America created more … billionaires during that crisis in 2020 than any year in history. Talk about a contrast. Ordinary people getting, waiting in line for an hour for a box of food, and the policies of the past created more billionaires than ever in American history. Folks, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. That’s what we inherited.”

Critics say that Biden’s appearance before the AFL-CIO — and his staunch support for unions as a whole — is nothing more than him returning a political favor to union bosses who showered him and his left-wing colleagues with lavish donations.

“Given that Big Labor’s forced dues political war chest was critical to putting Joe Biden in the White House, it’s no surprise he is going to the AFL-CIO convention to kiss the ring,” Mark Mix, president of the National Right To Work Committee, said in a statement to The Daily Wire prior to the president’s speech.

The National Right Work Committee website noted, “is it estimated that Big Labor spent $1.8 billion on politics and lobbying in 2019 and 2020,” according to research from the National Institute for Labor Relations. In 2020, the AFL-CIO endorsed Biden for the presidency. According to BlueTent, an organization that provides information for progressive donors, the AFL-CIO itself donated $5 million toward political causes in 2020, with much of it supporting Biden’s candidacy and party, with 27/41 of congressional donations going to Democrats.

The Daily Wire also recently reported that the American Federation of Teachers — which is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO — spent $49 million during the 2020-2021 fiscal year on political causes, many of which supported various Democratic policies and politicians.

“Since his first day in office, Biden has aggressively pushed union bosses’ coercive agenda to the detriment of the rights, freedoms, and opportunities of rank-and-file workers across the nation,” Mix added in his statement to The Daily Wire.

“Despite the fact Biden’s policies have been destructive to the livelihoods of the rank-and-file workers and most Americans, his handlers know the top bosses of the unions will back him so long as he continues to promise and deliver more powers to expand the ranks of workers who can be fired just for not paying dues or fees to a union,” Mix concluded.

The president also acknowledged that the AFL-CIO was partly responsible for his presidential election.

“You’re a gigantic reason why I’m standing here, standing here today as your president,” Biden told the audience.

“You guys don’t understand,” he continued. “I don’t think you appreciate how critically important you are. I’m not trying to be nice to you. It’s just a fact.”

The president received a standing ovation.