Former Vice President Joe Biden launched his first campaign rally Monday to the crowd of blue-collar voters who he believes can put him in the White House as they did for President Donald Trump in 2016.

Biden did not hold back from taking shots at the president.

'We have to choose hope over fear, unity over division, and maybe most importantly, truth over lies,' he said in one of the biggest applause lines of his remarks.

Former Vice President Joe Biden launched his first campaign rally Monday to the crowd of blue-collar voters who he believes can put him in the White House

Here to win: Joe Bidden, who started off wearing a jacket on stage, said he had come to Pittsburgh because that was where he had to win to beat Donald Trump

New slogan: Biden unveiled his 'Works for America' slogan at the first even of his campaign

Union hall: Joe Biden kicked off his 2020 run in the Teamster Local 249 Hall in Pittsburgh

Jill Biden addressed the crowd before her husband

Looks like this is OK: One woman hugged Biden, who has been fighting off Creepy Joe accusations since before his campaign launch

Union endorsement: Biden was able to trumpet the backing of the International Association of Firefighters, who sat out the 2016 election entirely, not endorsing Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump

Lined up for Joe: People waited to get into the union hall in Pittsburgh

'Donald Trump is the only president who's decided not to represent the whole country. The president has his base. We need a president that works for all Americans,' Biden argued.

He told the crowd of mostly white, male voters he needed them to win in 2020.

'Quite frankly folks, if I'm going to be able to beat Donald Trump in 2020, it's going to happen here. It's going to happen here in western Pennsylvania. With your help,' he told a cheering crowd.

'We love Joe, We love Joe,' the union-heavily crowd at the Teamsters Local 249 banquet hall shouted.

'By the way, I make no apologies. I am a union man,' Biden said to heavy applause.

Biden made his opening pitch in a packed union hall in a revitalized area of Pittsburgh, standing in front of a sign that read 'Biden works for America.'

Surrounded by union workers in yellow 'fire fighters for Biden' t-shirts and waving blue 'Biden for president' signs, he talked to crowd in his 'regular Joe' image, pressing how he was one of them.

He told stories of how he was called 'middle class' in a way that was not a compliment and described the worries his family had, comparing how they were similar to theirs.

He spoke of his late son Beau's battle with brain cancer.

'I could not imagine what it'd be like we were told that he's run out of money in the insurance policy, and we're going to have to cut them off with the palliative care he was getting,' he said.

And he rallied the crowd with fighting words.

'Workers feel powerless and too often humiliated. I call it an abuse of power. And I can't stand it. Never have been able to. And when I think about work, I think about dignity. I think about a lot about my dad, a proud gentlemen. My dad had an expression. He said, Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It's about your dignity,' he said.

On sale: Biden 2020 t-shirts and f*** Trump badges were being sold outside by a vendor

Joe Biden kisses wife Jill at his first campaign rally in Pittsburgh

Positive reception: The crowd chanted 'We love Joe' when Biden spoke

Unofficial merchandising: One woman brought a Biden bag with her for the rally

His speech comes after Trump slammed union leaders who have supported Biden and launched a Twitter campaign against the former vice president ahead of his first campaign rally.

Biden's first stop is on friendly-territory: a native of Scranton he's long identified with the people of Pennsylvania and with the blue-collar voters of the Rust Belt who are the back bones of unions.

His next stops are in Iowa, where he'll spend two days campaigning in the early caucus state. In 2008, he garnered a mere 1 percent in the Iowa caucuses, a showing that dashed his presidential dreams that year.

Biden started his first official campaign event strong, with an endorsement from the International Association of Firefighter (IAFF), a powerful union who sat out the 2016 presidential race.

The former vice president talked about the support he had from a variety of unions throughout the years and told the crowd he supported their right to work.

'The dignity of work is my measure. Which is about being about to provide for your family,' he told the crowd.

He advocated for a $15 minimum wage - a popular sentiment among the large field of Democratic contenders and called for repeal of Trump's tax cut.

'The first step is to reverse president trump's tax cut for the wealthy and corporation. And we need to eliminate these special tax breaks in the tax code. Warren Buffett said it best. He should not pay a lower tax rate than a secretary has. That's because of capital gains. It's wrong! And I'm going to change that so millionaires and billionaires pay lower taxes than firefighters and teachers,' he said.

'We need to reward wealth in this country, not just wealth. And look, there's much more we need. There's much more we need to do to build a middle class. And in the coming weeks, I'm going to go into a great deal more detail about this,' Biden added.

Biden took off his jacket and gave it a toss when he entered the hall

Biden heads to Iowa for a two-day campaign trip

Start of the run: Joe Biden walked on stage to shake hands with union members

Working the crowd: Biden headed in to the body of the hall after he spoke

Firefighters president Harold Schaitberger touted Biden's electability when he warmed up the crowd before the former vice president arrived.

'We can’t have a nominee who is too far to the left,' he said, 'who has high-minded ideals but who can’t win.'

'The most important factor that we must determine at the Democratic nomination process is who can win,' he said.

In his endorsement earlier in the day, Schaitberger called Biden an advocate for the middle class.

'Joe’s a lot like our firefighters. He’s a problem solver who cares deeply about America and committed to making our country better. He's one of the staunchest advocates for working families. He knows that a strong middle class means a strong America. And we know as president he will stand up for all the patriotic Americans who want nothing more than to earn a decent wage, send their kids to college, have affordable healthcare and a decent and secure retirement,' Schaitberger said in their video endorsement of Biden.

'I couldn't be more proud to have the International Association of Fire Fighters on my team. Unions built the middle class in this country - and as President, I'll fight to strengthen them and grow the backbone of this country,' Biden wrote on Twitter.

International Association of Firefighter (IAFF) president Harold Schaitberger praised Biden as an advocate for the middle class

The former vice president spoke to the group in Washington D.C. in March - part of a series of speeches to labor groups before he formally announced his 2020 presidential campaign.

As union members shouted 'run Joe run,' Biden told them: 'Save it a little longer, I may need it in a few weeks.'

He also spoke to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in April and supported 31,000 Stop & Shop striking workers in New England with an April stop in Dorchester, Mass.

And United Steelworkers are expected to be out in force for Biden on Monday, another powerful force in Pennsylvania politics.

While his courting labor on Monday, Biden's bigger aim is winning back Pennsylvania for Democrats.

In 2016, President Trump became the first Republican to win the state in more than 20 years and Democrats want the Keystone state back in their corner.

It also indicates the former vice president - who is competing among a field of 20 for the Democratic nomination - sees Trump as his foremost opponent.

Pennsylvania votes late in the Democratic primary calendar but is crucial to winning the White House in the general election.

And 61 percent of registered voters believe it's time to elect a new president, according to a Franklin & Marshall College poll taken in March.

Biden, with his ties to unions, is seen as one of the strongest bets to turn the rust belt states - Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ohio - back to Democrats, an appeal said to have Republicans worried.

He'll return to Pennsylvania on May 18 with a large rally in Philadelphia.

'Obviously we have to go back and win Michigan again, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin,' Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said Sunday on 'Face the Nation.'

Biden supporters line up outside the union hall in Pittsburgh

President Donald Trump went after Biden hard in a twitter rant on Monday

Schaitberger also told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' that Biden 'has the ability to speak to those workers, particularly in the states that are key in the next presidential election to be able to connect with them.'

Those voters didn't feel the same connection to Hillary Clinton, he claimed.

'Quite frankly that they did not feel connected to the democratic nominee in 2016,' Schaitberger said. 'Those votes are key in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa. Joe Biden is genuine and has the ability to connect and touch and speak to those workers and those voters and bring them back from where many of them did migrate in 2016.'

In the RealClearPolitics polling average of Biden vs. Trump, the former vice president leads by 7.5 points.

And Trump went against Biden hard Monday.

'Sleepy Joe Biden is having his first rally in the Great State of Pennsylvania. He obviously doesn’t know that Pennsylvania is having one of the best economic years in its history, with lowest unemployment EVER, a now thriving Steel Industry (that was dead) & great future!,' Trump wrote on Twitter Monday morning.

The president also claimed he's in office because of Biden and former President Barack Obama.

'The Media (Fake News) is pushing Sleepy Joe hard. Funny, I’m only here because of Biden & Obama. They didn’t do the job and now you have Trump, who is getting it done - big time!,' Trump wrote on Twitter.

And then he claimed union membership supports him even if its leadership does not, charging leaders with ripping off workers.

'I’ll never get the support of Dues Crazy union leadership, those people who rip-off their membership with ridiculously high dues, medical and other expenses while being paid a fortune. But the members love Trump. They look at our record economy, tax & reg cuts, military etc. WIN!,' he noted.

'The Dues Sucking firefighters leadership will always support Democrats, even though the membership wants me. Some things never change!,' he added.