‘Give It a Go, Joe’: Union Crowd Cheers Biden On

PITTSBURGH (AP) —
Vice President Joe Biden waves to the crowd Monday as he walks down Grant Street in Pittsburgh in their annual Labor Day parade. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Vice President Joe Biden waves to the crowd Monday as he walks down Grant Street in Pittsburgh in their annual Labor Day parade. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Hearing chants of “Run Joe, run,” Vice President Joe Biden marched in Pittsburgh’s annual Labor Day parade on Monday as speculation swirled about a potential late entry into the Democratic presidential campaign.

The vice president donned a black-and-gold United Steelworkers union hat and told hundreds of union members that the gap between the wealthy and poor was hurting the nation.

“The tax code’s not fair. It’s simply not fair,” Biden said in a city long associated with organized labor. “The wealthy aren’t paying their fair share. There used to be one America.”

Biden later marched throughout the city’s downtown, hearing encouraging words along the parade route.

“Give it a go, Joe!” shouted one woman.

Biden is seriously considering a late entry into the 2016 Democratic presidential campaign. That could jumble a Democratic contest that has seen front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton’s lead diminish in early states against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who describes himself as a democratic socialist.

Biden, however, said last week he wasn’t certain he and his family had the “emotional energy” for a campaign.

But AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who walked the parade route with Biden, said the vice president got a strong response from workers.

“If you’re looking for energy, this is a great place to get energy today,” the labor leader said.

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