Whodathunk that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a billionaire like Paul Singer and the AFL-CIO would all be in exact agreement about who they DON'T want for 2016? It's never happened before, but then again, this is an election of many strange firsts.
Although the choice is not unanimous when considering who it is they are supporting, the unanimity is found in which candidate they are absolutely against: the most polarizing, highest negative-polling presumptive nominee of all time, Donald J. Drumpf.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is normally allied with the GOP in every election since they became a highly influential entity almost twenty years ago. The fact that 350.org found that 94% of US Chamber of Commerce electoral contributions went to candidates denying the scientific consensus on climate change reveals who's side they are on, normally. That number is right in line with their tendency to favor Republicans over Democrats roughly 90% of the time.
This election cycle is the exception; they are not fans of the Orange Hellbeast. The C of C picked apart every bit of Trump's speech on Tuesday, fact checking his lies in real time on Twitter. The Chamber slammed his claims that we should simply revamp NAFTA entirely or leave the association and his plans to 86 the TPP entirely. They even got some help from the National Association of Manufacturers who tweeted this:
.@realDonaldTrump says we're losing to China. But to win, WE need to write rules on trade – not China. #MakeAmericaTradeAgain with #TPP.
— Jay Timmons (@JayTimmonsNAM) June 28, 2016
The video above clearly shows how Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO and the general consensus of the federation, feels about Trump: in short, he's a fraud. The video focuses on the hypocrisy of the billionaire who wants all the jobs to come back to the U.S., but has completely violated that principle himself on many occasions.
The Donald is exposed by David Letterman in a clip that shows his clothing manufactured in countries like China and Bangladesh. The federation has supported every Democrat since they sat out the 1972 election, so their opposition to Trump is not unusual. But they are in agreement, this time, with those who are usually on the opposite side of the aisle.
Perhaps the most unusual of the Unlikely Allied Triumvirate United Against Trump (UATUAT) is billionaire, and Republican financier, Paul Singer. Singer is best known for his role as former presidential candidate Marco Rubio's personal billionaire, but he recently came out vehemently against Herr Drumpf, warning that Donald would cause a global financial catastrophe with his rash ideas about dissolving existing trade agreements.
"The most impactful of the economic policies that I recall him coming out for are these anti-trade policies," Singer said during a panel discussion at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado. "And I think if he actually stuck to those policies and gets elected president, it's close to a guarantee of a global depression, widespread global depression."
The 2,000+ year old phrase "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" has never been more true than in this case of the strange alliances formed against the strangest candidate in history.
Trump has created some strange bedfellows indeed.