Exclusive: UAW's Shawn Fain on Teamsters RNC speech — "I wouldn't have" done it

• Fain told Axios: "I give him credit for going into the belly of the beast and actually speaking about working class issues, but I don't really think it swayed anybody."
• O'Brien had used the appearance to rail on what he called big business' "war against American workers."
• O'Brien also asked to speak at the DNC, but "we didn't get a response to our request," Teamsters spokesperson Kara Deniz told Axios.

Driving the news: Fain wore a "Trump is a scab" T-shirt during his DNC speech and hailed Kamala Harris as someone who would look out for working class people.

At Axios House, Fain said working class people like him could look at Harris and Gov. Tim Walz and see themselves. "I can't look at Donald Trump and see myself," he said, noting that Trump was born into extreme wealth.

• Fain noted that around one-third of UAW members had voted for Trump in the previous two election cycles, but called Trump "a con artist" who made promises to working people but never delivered.
• Fain also rejected the idea that the U.S. has a "border crisis" due to "invading" immigrants: "They're not invading our nation. They're human beings."

• Said the UAW is helping workers in Mexico, Brazil and elsewhere fight for their rights: "We're working with unions all over the globe right now."

What to watch: Fain also said the UAW was continuing its organizing efforts at non-unionized automakers, including at Tesla:

• "Obviously Tesla's in our sights. I think everyone's craving that fight," he said.

The other side: Trump said at the RNC that Fain should be fired and the UAW "ought to be ashamed" over "large factories … being built across the border in Mexico" and built "by China" to sell cars with "no tax, no anything." He did not elaborate on why he believed the UAW was responsible for this, Axios' Avery Lotz reported.