President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off the final sprint to the election together on Labor Day, using the holiday to woo working-class voters with an event at a local union hall in Pittsburgh — a symbolic show of force in a city Biden himself often turned to at key points in his political career.
“I’ll be on the sidelines, but I’ll do everything I can to help,” Biden said of Harris’ bid for president. “Are you ready to make Donald Trump a loser again?”
Harris is getting a boost from Biden in battleground Pennsylvania, one of the “blue wall” states that were key to Biden’s victory in 2020 and one that will be critical this year.
“I’ve celebrated many Labor Days in Pittsburgh,” Biden said. “It’s always good to be back to so many great friends.”
Labor Day marks the first time both the president and vice president appeared together for a campaign event since Biden announced he was ending his reelection bid and endorsing Harris.
While appearing as a top surrogate for Harris, Biden spoke at length about the pro-union actions he’d personally taken during his time in office: crossing a picket line with autoworkers, opposing foreign takeovers of American manufacturers, and demanding certain unions accept more women.
“We know the simple truth: Wall Street did not build America, the middle class built America, and unions built the middle class,” the president said.