PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WTRF) – The 2020 Presidential election is creeping closer and closer, and Monday former Vice President Joe Biden held his first campaign rally in the Steel City.
Biden is hoping that the third time is the charm. After unsuccessfully running for the Democratic nomination for President twice, he thinks he is the front runner for his party in 2020.
“Make sure employees, the economy works, not just for the wealthy folks, not just for people who get four-year college degrees but those who compete for job training and trades and programs,” Biden said during the rally.
The main focus of his first first campaign rally was the working class.
After receiving an endorsement from the International Association of Fire Fighters earlier in the day, the former Vice President addressed a crowd of just over 600 people.
While he didn’t offer specifics on policy, Biden said that he would fight for unions and the middle class.
“They represent the cities and towns that make up hard-working middle-class Americans who are the backbone of this nation,” He continued. “That’s not hyperbole. The backbone of this nation.”
The Pennsylvania native made it clear that he wants to pick up on what he and former President Obama did for eight years. While Biden said he hopes for a more united country, he did not hold back when it came to attacking President Trump.
“We have to stop this administration’s effort to gut it first,” Biden continued. “And then we have to move on and finish the job and make healthcare a right. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege.”
Biden’s decision to have his first campaign rally in Pittsburgh was a strategic one.
He said that he needs Western Pennsylvania, an Pennsylvania in general, if he’s going to win the presidency. Biden also added that if he wins the Democratic nomination, the only way he’ll beat President Trump is if he wins the state of Pennsylvania.