The Democratic duo met with union activists in Pittsburgh on Monday, September 2, during a day focused on defending the middle and working class. They then stood side by side in front of some 600 supporters.
On the occasion of Labor Day, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris participated together on Monday, September 2, in a campaign event in Pennsylvania, a “pivot” state likely to swing the presidential election.
“We’ve made a lot of progress and Kamala and I are going to build on that progress,” the White House incumbent said. “I’ll stand aside, but I’ll do whatever I can to help,” he added.
It was their first official campaign event since Biden’s shock withdrawal from the White House race on July 21, and after a first joint trip in mid-August as part of their official duties.
“We will not go back!”
Joe Biden, who still enjoys a certain amount of sympathy among the white working-class electorate, presented his vice president, Kamala Harris, as his worthy successor. “I promise you that if you elect Kamala Harris as president, it will be the best decision you will ever make,” he said.
“Joe Biden has been one of the presidents of the United States who has most transformed the country and that comes from his heart,” Kamala Harris stressed.
Traveling earlier this Monday to Detroit, Michigan, another key state, the Democratic candidate warned against a new mandate for her rival Donald Trump.
The former president “intends to take us back, especially to a time when workers did not have the freedom to organize,” she said, surrounded by representatives of teachers’ and auto unions. “We will not go back!” the crowd shouted back, repeating one of her campaign slogans.
Donald Trump accused her, also targeting Joe Biden, of having “undone” all the “major successes” he boasts of in terms of the economy and employment during his term (2017-2021), in a publication on Truth Social.
The Republican candidate, also courting the working-class vote (which has shifted to the right in recent years), had not planned a campaign event for Monday. But he will travel to Wisconsin this week, where he will talk about the economy.