President Joe Biden took a swipe against Donald Trump’s supporters as he reacted to the Republican presidential nominee’s weekend rally at Madison Square Garden, which was overshadowed by crude and racist rhetoric.
In a call organised by the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino on Tuesday, Mr Biden responded to a comic at the rally who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”. Mr Biden’s initial comments were garbled.
“Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Well, let me tell you something, I don’t, I don’t know the Puerto Rican that I know, the Puerto Rico where I’m fr.. in my home state of Delaware. They’re good, decent honourable people,” he said.
The president added: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Mr Biden “referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage'”.
Mr Biden also posted on X to say his garbage comment “referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico”, saying it was the “only word I can think of to describe it”.
“The demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable,” he wrote. “That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.”
Just minutes after Mr Biden’s comments, the vice president spoke from the Ellipse in Washington, vowing to be a president who would unite the country.
“I pledge to be a president for all Americans,” Kamala Harris said as Republicans quickly highlighted Mr Biden’s remark.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio interrupted Mr Trump’s rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to recount what happened.
“Moments ago Joe Biden stated that our supporters, our patriots, are garbage,” he said. “He’s talking about everyday Americans who love their country.”
Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage—which is the only word I can think of to describe it. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That's all I meant to say. The…
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 30, 2024
Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “There’s no way to spin it: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris don’t just hate President Trump, they despise the tens of millions of Americans who support him.”
A Trump campaign fundraising text declared: “KAMALA’S BOSS JOE BIDEN JUST CALLED ALL MY SUPPORTERS GARBAGE!” before ensuring recipients that Mr Trump himself thinks: “YOU ARE AMAZING!”
Prominent Democrats also began to distance themselves from Mr Biden’s comments.
Speaking on CNN, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he would “never insult the good people of Pennsylvania or any Americans even if they chose to support a candidate that I didn’t support”.
The comments recalled then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton dismissing Mr Trump’s supporters during a 2016 fundraiser in New York by saying that half would fit into a “basket of deplorables”.
She later called that characterisation “grossly generalistic”, but it became a defiant rallying cry for many who said the insult encapsulated the elitist attitudes of Mrs Clinton and the Democrats.
With election day just a week off, Mr Biden has worked to maintain relevance, furiously promoting his administration’s accomplishments while Ms Harris is in her race against Mr Trump.
But his efforts to remain in the political spotlight might not always be so helpful for the top of the Democratic ticket he is promoting because, while Ms Harris has been sharply critical of Mr Trump for months, repeatedly calling him “unstable” and “unhinged” and even suggesting that he was “fascist”, she has been careful not to decry his supporters.
In fact, the vice president has campaigned extensively with former Republican Representative Liz Cheney and other former Republican elected officials, hoping to woo conservative crossover voters. The Democratic convention — and Harris ads — have highlighted the stories of everyday Americans who talked about having voted for Mr Trump in the past but now say they are supporting the vice president.
On Tuesday’s call, Mr Biden also said that Mr Trump “doesn’t give a damn about the Latino community” and urged rejection of the former president even as his campaign says its support is rising among Hispanics, particularly men.
“Vote to keep Donald Trump out of the White House,” Mr Biden said. “He’s a true danger to, not just Latinos but to all people. Particularly those who are in a minority in this country.”
