Teamsters president James Hoffa on Wednesday praised President Donald Trump for his early actions on infrastructure, trade deals, and keeping jobs in the United States.
Fox News host Neil Cavuto had Hoffa on his show to discuss some of the executive orders that Trump has signed since assuming office.
"We welcome it because it's a beginning of working with unions to help rebuild our infrastructure," Hoffa said, referring to Trump's actions on the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines. Hoffa complimented Trump on his work to keep jobs in America, specifically mentioning Trump's deals with Carrier and Ford Motor Company.
Cavuto noted that it seems strange that the president of the Teamsters would be approving of actions by a Republican president. During the 2016 election, the Teamsters' 1.4 million members endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump and have mainly supported Democratic politicians recently.
"He's not just going to be the big business president; he's going to be the president of everybody here," Hoffa said. He continued by remarking that "it's amazing a Republican is doing this" regarding Trump's action on trade deals.
"The last Republican president to win over union folks, not in the majority but strongly, was Ronald Reagan. Is Donald Trump doing that right now, and should Democrats be worried?" Cavuto asked.
"I think it's important to talk about the fact that he picked up the message that's been our message [that] the Democrats did not emphasize," Hoffa responded. "It's about jobs. It's about people being left behind."
Hoffa and Cavuto finished off the segment by discussing Trump's actions on Wednesday regarding building a wall on America's southern border. Cavuto asked Hoffa if he approved.
"We have to have an orderly operation with regard to our border. Anybody that has a country that anybody can walk in is a problem," Hoffa said.