President Joe Biden is facing backlash after he seemingly referred to supporters of Republican candidate Donald Trump as “garbage” during a campaign call on Tuesday. His remarks came while speaking on a video call with VotoLatino, where he addressed comments made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who described Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” while opening for Trump at a New York rally.
Biden stated, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” while condemning Trump’s “demonization of Latinos” as “unconscionable and un-American.” The White House later clarified that Biden’s comment was directed at Trump’s rhetoric, not his supporters, with spokesperson Andrew Bates stating that Biden was denouncing the “hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally” as “garbage.”
Trump’s campaign quickly responded, with the former president calling Biden’s remarks “terrible” during a rally in Pennsylvania. He compared Biden’s comments to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 label of Trump supporters as “deplorables,” noting, “Garbage, I think, is worse, right?”
Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, also condemned Biden’s remarks as “disgusting,” accusing him and Vice President Kamala Harris of “attacking half of the country.” This incident has heightened campaign tensions as Biden and Harris approach a tight race against Trump, just one week before Election Day.
