teleSUR correspondent Arun Gupta had a scuffle with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka after questioning him on his support for Hillary Clinton while covering the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday.
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While livestreaming, Gupta asked Trumka whether he is worried about Clinton’s support for free trade deals, to which Trumka responded that she opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership and cut off the interview short by “smacking” Gupta with a “flimsy cardboard sign,” Gupta later wrote on Raw Story article.
He told teleSUR “it was the third time I've been accosted by the rich and powerful at this year's political conventions for asking tough questions."
The AFL-CIO voted to endorse Clinton last month, after primary season ended. The new draft of the Democratic Party platform included a US$15 minimum wage and other pro-labor policies, but Gupta tried to point out that Clinton has supported eight out of 10 free trade deals in Congress before Trumka lost his patience.
“I laughed in surprise,” Gupta later wrote, “but the question of free trade is utterly serious as longtime Clinton confidant and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe claimed at the convention that Hillary Clinton would support TPP once in the White House (which her campaign denied).”
Before he had to divert the camera, Gupta managed to hear from Trumka what the AFL-CIO has gained from the DNC. “All the rules we’re talking about changing, the rules of the economy, to work for working people. The whole platform is ours,” he said.
Trumka, “(t)hick as a seam of coal,” stood out in the crowd of “boisterous and diverse” Democrats who indulged in pampering and glitzy photo ops with celebrities from Hollywood and the Capitol alike. But in the end, said Gupta, Trumka stood with the others.
"As always, the real danger in America is not the protester next to you, even if you disagree,” Gupta told teleSUR. “It's the ruling class and their attack dogs."