Trump begins Labor Day with attack on AFL-CIO president

AFL-CIO head Richard Trumka was the victim of Trump tweets on Labor Day.
(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

President Trump began Labor Day by slamming the head of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, claiming he "represented his union poorly on television this weekend." Trumka had criticized Trump during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, The Associated Press notes, and said that "the things [the president has] done to hurt workers outpace what he's done to help workers."

Trumka also cautioned against reading too much into the economic growth and low unemployment that Trump celebrates, saying: "Those things are good, but wages have been down since the first of the year. Gas prices have been up since the first of the year. So overall, workers aren't doing as well."

Trump also appeared to respond to that claim, tweeting: "The Worker in America is doing better than ever before. Celebrate Labor Day!"

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.