Trumka: Democratic Field 'Still Wide Open,' Biden Has Time

[Purveyor]

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the Democratic presidential campaign is "still wide open" and Vice President Joe Biden has time to join the field.

Trumka, who met privately last week with Biden, said Tuesday at a breakfast with reporters sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor that he does not know whether Biden will enter the race but appeared to welcome an expanded slate of Democratic candidates.

"The field is still wide open. There's still a lot of time," said Trumka, who will see Biden at Labor Day events in Pittsburgh on Monday. The labor leader said Biden has "a lot on his shoulders, I'd say," but "he has to decide whether he's got the full focus ... he and his family and I don't know the answer to that. Only he knows the answer to that. He would be a good candidate. He would be a good president."

Trumka said Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton would "make a great president" but needs "to really figure out how to energize workers." He predicted, however, that she could "catch fire, too."


Read more: http://siouxcityjournal.com/ap/washington/trumka-democratic-field-still-wide-open-biden-has-time/article_5d7a3a26-950b-575a-b36c-504102e5faf1.html

[underthematrix]

1. so want to ridin' with Biden

[still_one]

2. nope, biden does not have that much time, and frankly, does Trumka have a problem with Bernie,

because Bernie has been very consistent on labor issues

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Trumka is head of an affiliation of Unions, he can't endorse anyone until the membership of those

various Unions votes to do so. If the various affiliates never reach a majority decision, AFL-CIO itself will not make an endorsement. Point being Trumka could have a problem or a man crush and he'd still have to be saying 'we have choices, it's early' because we do and it is and he lacks all authority to endorse on his own.

[still_one]

4. Thanks for the background.