On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden faced backlash for appearing to refer to former President Donald Trump’s supporters as “garbage” during a campaign video call. Biden, speaking to the nonprofit VotoLatino, addressed the response following a speaker’s remarks at Trump’s New York rally, where Puerto Rico was described as a “floating island of garbage.”
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden remarked, adding that Trump’s “demonization of Latinos” was both “unconscionable” and “un-American.”
The White House later clarified Biden’s comments, explaining he was referring specifically to Trump’s language and not his supporters. “The President was calling out the hateful rhetoric used at the Madison Square Garden rally,” explained spokesperson Andrew Bates.
With Election Day around the corner, Biden’s remarks quickly became a focal point for the Trump campaign, with Trump denouncing them as “terrible” at a rally in Pennsylvania, adding, “It’s terrible, just terrible to say something like that.” Trump compared Biden’s comments to Hillary Clinton’s “deplorables” remark during her 2016 campaign, suggesting “garbage” might even be worse.
Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, called Biden’s words “disgusting,” accusing Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of “attacking half of the country.”
At Trump’s New York rally, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe had sparked controversy by making derogatory remarks about Puerto Rico and racist comments directed at Hispanic and African American communities. While Puerto Rican residents on the island cannot vote in U.S. elections, nearly six million Puerto Ricans living on the mainland are eligible voters.
In a subsequent interview, Trump sought to distance himself from Hinchcliffe’s comments. “Whether it’s a big deal or not, I don’t like people making nasty jokes,” Trump told Fox News, adding, “Probably, he shouldn’t have been there.”
