AARON JOSEFCZYK/REUTERS
Vice President Biden delivered his speech wearing a United Steelworkers hat.
Amid growing speculation that he could jump into the 2016 presidential race, Vice President Biden on Monday marched in Pittsburgh’s annual Labor Day parade, delivering a short but pointed speech about the value of unions.
“You’re the only one that has the power to keep the barbarians from the gate, man,” Biden, donning a black-and-gold United Steelworkers hat, told hundreds of union members.
Biden, thought to be carefully mulling a late entry into the race for the 2016 Democratic nomination, also spoke often of the growing wealth gap in the U.S.
"I hope everyone in America has a chance to become a billionaire,” he said. “The level playing field doesn't exist.”
“We need to make sure every parent can look their kid in the eye and say, ‘honey, it's going to be okay’,” he added.He’s a friend, he’s a brother, he’s a great champion of working men and working women, and I got to say, it’s an honor to be with him and stand with him here today,” Trumka said of Biden.
After his remarks, Biden partook in the city’s annual Labor Day parade, marching through downtown Pittsburgh to occasional chants of “run, Joe, run.”
“Give it a go, Joe,” one woman yelled.
Biden responded to one of the supportive shouts by saying he still had to talk the decision over with his wife, Jill.
“You got to talk to my wife about that,” he said. “I got to talk to my wife. A late Biden entry into the race would likely jumble the increasingly close contest between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Biden, however, said last week he wasn't certain if he and his family had the “emotional energy'' for another campaign.
Trumka, in what appeared to be a thinly veiled supportive comment, said Biden got a strong response from the city's workers.
“If you're looking for energy, this is a great place to get energy today,'' he told Biden.
With News Wire Services
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