PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Joe Biden launched his third bid for the White House Monday in his home state of Pennsylvania with an appeal to “the great American middle class” and workers, saying he wants to rebuild “the backbone” of the country.
“I make no apologies, I am a union man,” the former vice president told a predominately white crowd assembled at Teamsters Local Union 249’s modest banquet hall in Pittsburgh.
“If I’m going to beat Donald Trump in 2020, it’s going to happen here,” Biden said in a bow to President Donald Trump’s unexpected 2016 victory in the Keystone state, which along with other “Rust Belt” states stretching into the Midwest gave the president his Electoral College win.
Biden also referenced the attack six months ago on a Pittsburgh synagogue and the assault Saturday on a synagogue in southern California, suggesting that America had lost its way under Trump.
“We’re reminded again that we are in a battle for America’s soul, and we have to restore it,” Biden said.
The union represents school bus and freight drivers and UPS workers. Its red brick headquarters are in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood, a once dangerous, industrial part of town that has evolved into an upmarket hipster haven. The area’s renewal appeared to be a symbolic backdrop to Biden’s opening pitch to voters.
[Opinion: Biden plays for the working man in Pittsburgh]
Though some have questioned whether Biden, 76, who served two terms as former President Barack Obama’s second-in-command after 36 years in the Senate, is the right messenger for a change platform, Joe Jividen was right behind him.
Jividen, 24, a teacher, drove one-and-half hours from Wheeling, W.Va., to be in the front of the line at 9 a.m. for Monday’s event. He told the Washington Examiner Biden’s authenticity is what resonates with the Democratic base.
“He is who he is and he has been for a long time. His message is that he’s for the middle class. It’s not up to me to decide whether it’s a good message or not, but it speaks to me for sure,” Jividen said, referring to concerns Biden’s moderate stance will not excite and mobilize the left wing of the party.
Biden, a former senator who represented Delaware in the upper chamber for more than three decades, was born on the other side of Pennsylvania, in Scranton. The Keynote State, along with Michigan and Wisconsin, is a crucial piece of a Democratic map back to the White House in 2020.
Joseph Maurizi, a 25-year-old Carnegie Mellon research associate based in Pittsburgh, said Biden would have a home field advantage for both the primary and general elections in Pennsylvania.
“He’s always been considered Pennsylvania’s third senator. He talks like the people do here, and communication is half the battle,” Maurizi said. “I don’t want there to be too much infighting, and he’s the Democrats’ best chance. We can’t afford to roll the dice. He’s won twice here on a presidential ticket and could bring out voters in counties that Hillary Clinton underperformed in in 2016.”
Maurizi added that Biden’s vice presidential pick was important, indicating he would prefer Sen. Kamala Harris of California.
“She’s young and up-and-coming. You need to balance his experience with someone younger who can learn the ropes and maybe lead in the future. They can also then talk to all demographics, both young and old voters. It’s like Obama and Biden, but in reverse,” he said.
Eric Cutting, a 56-year-old journalist from outside of Philadelphia, is not as convinced. Cutting is open to Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota becoming the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer after listening to her “for years” and being impressed with her performance during her three terms in the Senate, including her grilling of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh last year. But he said he would be satisfied with her as Biden’s No. 2.
“She has a sensible, serious voice,” he said. “I wish she was getting more press. She’s not as splashy, but her campaign is founded in real policy.”
After Monday’s rally, Biden will fly to the early-voting state of Iowa. He is expected to crisscross the Hawkeye State during his two-day swing, making stops in Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Iowa City, and Des Moines. Biden will speak with working voters about his plan to inclusively rebuild America’s middle class, his campaign said.
Biden, who contested the presidency in 1988 and 2008, leads in early polls of Democratic primary voters.
