The numbers don't lie: Teamsters in key battlegrounds support Trump over Harris

The announcement by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters that it would not endorse either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Trump in the 2024 White House race earned some major headlines.

And the move by the powerful union with over one million U.S. members instantly gave the Trump campaign some ammunition to fire at Team Harris, because the Teamsters became the only one of the nation's top ten organized labor organizations not to endorse the vice president in the race to succeed President Biden in the White House.

"The Teamsters carry a lot of weight," Trump noted as he discussed the move by the union against an endorsement for the first time in over a quarter century.

2024 SHOCKER: WHY THE TEAMSTERS STAYED NEUTRAL IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN

The Harris campaign, in an apparent move to downplay the news, pointed to endorsements from "many Teamsters locals and rank and file."

This week, ahead of Trump's stop in Savannah, Georgia, to outline his manufacturing proposals, the Harris campaign spotlighted the endorsement of the vice president by Teamsters Joint Council 75, which represents rank-and-file members in Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

WHY HARRIS CHARGED TRUMP'S ‘ONE OF THE BIGGEST LOSERS’

The Harris campaign touted that the vice president "has now been endorsed by local Teamsters unions representing more than 1.5 million active and retired members. This includes more than half a million members across battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nevada."

But new numbers released this week by the Teamsters of their survey of rank-and-file members that was conducted July 24-Sept. 15 — broken down by state — shows Trump with far more support than Harris.

Here's the breakdown of the Teamsters rank-and-file vote in the seven crucial battleground states whose razor-thin margins decided President Biden's 2020 election victor over Trump and will likely determine the outcome of the 2024 White House race.

 Arizona: Trump 57.3%  Harris 38.7%

 Georgia: Trump 56.3%  Harris 40.7%

 Michigan: Trump 61.7%  Harris 32.5%

 Nevada: Trump 59.9%  Harris 37.3%

 North Carolina: Trump 69.1%  Harris 29.2%

 Pennsylvania: Trump 65.3%  Harris 31.4%

 Wisconsin: Trump 57%  Harris 40.5%

According to the national Teamsters vote totals released last week at the time of the endorsement announcement, Trump's support among the rank-and-file surged since Harris replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic Party's 2024 ticket over two months ago.

The union's polling, prior to Biden dropping out, showed that the president was ahead of Trump among members, 44.3% to 36.3%, but that Trump held a 25-point margin of support over Harris. New figures showed that it was a similar story in the state voting as well, with Trump surging in rank-and-file support after Biden ended his re-election bid.

Biden has long been seen as arguably the most pro-union president in modern times, and he made history as the first president to walk the picket lines with striking workers.

Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien, in explaining why the Teamsters decided not to endorse, said that "neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business.

"We sought commitments from both Trump and Harris not to interfere in critical union campaigns or core Teamsters industries — and to honor our members’ right to strike — but were unable to secure those pledges."

The Harris campaign touted the vice president's "strong union record" and argued that "while Donald Trump says that striking workers should be fired, Vice President Harris has literally walked the picket line and stood strong with organized labor for her entire career."

Asked in an MSNBC interview on Wednesday whether the Teamsters were looking for more commitments before making any endorsement, Harris demurred and pivoted to an attack on Trump, charging that the former president during his administration "made a whole lot of promises that he did not meet and, one would argue, broke."

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. 

Feds seize Eric Adams' phone after NYC mayor's indictment

FBI agents raided New York City's mayoral mansion Thursday morning in a predawn raid hours before a federal indictment on campaign corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams became public.

Federal prosecutors allege he illegally received foreign and corporate campaign donations for a decade in exchange for influence. Adams countered with a video statement saying any charges filed against him would be "entirely false, based on lies," and insinuated that his criticism of the Biden administration's disastrous border policies made him a target for retaliation.

"The federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief," he said. "I put the people of New York before party and politics."

NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ERIC ADAMS INDICTED

Sources said agents seized the mayor's phone during the morning operation, although it was not immediately clear whether Adams was at Gracie Mansion when they arrived.

They did not arrest Adams, according to his lawyer, Alex Spiro.

The alleged fraud also sucked in more public funding for the mayor's campaign under a program that supplements small-dollar donations with matching grants of up to $2,000 supported by taxpayers, according to the indictment. According to court documents, a donation of just $250 from an individual could send a candidate up to $2,000 in "matching funds" from taxpayers. It happened so frequently that Adams allegedly received $10 million from the program.

On top of campaign donations, Adams allegedly received other perks like free flights on Turkish Airlines to destinations in Europe and Asia, free hotel stays and free high-end meals. In one instance, he allegedly asked about flying to Chile's Easter Island on a Turkish jet – but he couldn't because it did not offer a route connecting New York and the South American country.

In some cases, he is accused of creating a fake paper trail to make it look like items had been paid for, and he is accused of deleting text messages to and from co-conspirators about the purported scam.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, called the fake paper trail "just a clumsy cover-up."

READ THE INDICTMENT:

"Federal agents appeared this morning at Gracie Mansion in an effort to create a spectacle (again) and take Mayor Adams' phone (again)," Adams' lawyer told The Associated Press. "They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in."

But court documents allege a long history of public corruption. As far back as 2016, Adams allegedly began accepting luxurious travel perks in secret, according to the indictment.

ADAMS OFFICE LASHES OUT AT FBI EMPLOYEE WHO MIGHT HAVE ‘IMPROPERLY LEAKED DETAILS’ OF CORRUPTION PROBE

In a series of free or "heavily discounted" trips overseas, Adams visited India, France, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Nepal and China, according to the filing. In all, he and his entourage allegedly paid around $2,300 for flights that should have cost $66,000. He sometimes allegedly flew hours off course to transfer at Instanbul and save money when he could have flown somewhere direct in far less time.

Federal prosecutors allege he was given free yacht rides, driven around in luxury cars and got free stays at hotels like the Four Seasons and St. Regis.

Then he illegally failed to disclose the trips and perks on annual disclosure forms, according to prosecutors. 

WATCH: NYC Mayor Adams calls pending federal charges 'entirely false'

At one point, an Adams staffer allegedly pushed back at a Turkish national's attempt to give donations through an American straw-donor of Turkish decent.

"I think he wouldn't get involved in such games," the staffer said, according to court documents. "They might cause a big stink later on…but I'll ask anyways."

The staffer later discussed the logistics of a $100,000 donation, according to the indictment.

David Gelman, a New Jersey-based defense attorney and legal surrogate for the Trump campaign, said the feds were likely serving a warrant to seize data on the mayor's devices.

But he also questioned the case against Adams.

"The question is, is it politically motivated?" he said. "It’s possible. The DOJ has shown over the last 3.5 years that they are weaponized."

Adams blasted the feds for what he described as a pressure campaign designed to make him look guilty and undermine his credibility.

WATCH: Federal agents enter Gracie Mansion following an indictment against Mayor Eric Adams

FBI RAIDS HOME OF NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS' CHIEF FUNDRAISER BRIANNA SUGGS, SOURCE SAYS

"Just this past week, they searched the home of our new police commissioner looking for documents for 20 years ago, just one week after he joined my administration," he said. "Enough. I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit."

He insisted that he is innocent and argued against calls for his resignation.

"Now, if I am charged, many may say I should resign because I cannot manage the city while fighting the case," he said. "I can also understand how everyday New Yorkers would be concerned that I cannot do my job while facing accusations. But I have been facing these lies for month, since I began to speak out for all of you and their investigation started, yet the city has continued to improve. Make no mistake, you elected me to lead this city, and lead it I will."

Details of the indictment were expected to be made public later Thursday morning.

"We have no idea of the charges or accusations but Adams and his legal team have been well aware that the indictment was coming down," Gelman said. "Nobody knows if they have cooperated but if the Feds have a person in their crosshairs, they don’t miss."

Federal agents have conducted a series of raids targeting Adams' inner circle in recent weeks, including the new police commissioner, the commissioner he replaced, and other top aides in the mayor's office and from his campaign.

The FBI has reportedly been looking into whether Adams' 2021 mayoral campaign conspired with the Turkish government and other entities to raise funds. Some New York officials have also been probed over potential investigations into contacts with China.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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