A video of President Joe Biden discussing trucking jobs in an interview with the Des Moines Register in 2019 has resurfaced online, sparking backlash from social media users.
“Guess what? Every trucker out there with an eighth-grade education or high school education knows that they are likely not to have a job in the next three, four, five years,” Biden is heard saying in the video.
The 10-second clip, posted to TikTok Monday by an account critical of the president, gained more than 4.8 million views in one day. It is missing some context.
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What is missing from the video?
In the more than one-hour video with the Des Moines Register editorial board, Biden discussed healthcare, unifying the country, and the economy. His comment about trucking jobs followed an anecdote about running into an old friend from Claymont, Delaware whose son is an independent truck driver.
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Biden said he didn’t think truckers were treated with respect before making the now-viral comment. He went on to say he would address the concern that trucking jobs are dwindling by providing alternatives.
“This is the hard part. You got to go and say but there are a lot of jobs out there. But you’re gonna have to go back and be retrained. Imagine if you didn’t like school to begin with, being told at 50 years old, you’re gonna go back,” Biden continued. “There are a lot of jobs out there. We’re short on people with the training.”
In the interview, Biden gave the specific example of the country’s need for workers who understand how to construct photovoltaic machinery, which includes solar panels.
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What has Biden done for truckers while in office?
In 2021, the Biden-Harris administration announced its “Trucking Action Plan” to support the country’s truckers.
The plan included FASTPORT, a federally funded national apprenticeship intermediary partner committed to working with trucking employers to establish Registered Apprenticeship programs. It also launched the Driving Good Jobs Initiative, a partnership between the Department of Transportation and the Department of Labor focused on listening sessions and advocacy for drivers and unions.
But those actions did not stop online users from criticizing Biden. One wrote, “You just lost my vote, Mr. President!” in a comment Monday on the original YouTube video of Biden’s 2019 interview.
“This would make a great ad or billboard at all truck stops considering there are an estimated 3.5 million truck drivers in the US,” reads a comment with more than 12,400 likes on TikTok.
Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, as @rachelbarber_
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