President Biden’s use of the word “garbage” has prompted a political controversy in the waning days of the presidential campaign.
Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images
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Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images
President Biden tried to clarify his remarks about his predecessor’s supporters, as Republicans latched onto his comments, saying he was calling half the country “garbage.”
The dispute gave additional momentum to the controversy unleashed by a “joke” about Puerto Rico told at former President Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally — one that Trump hasn’t directly addressed yet. That joke has roiled the presidential campaign in its waning days as Puerto Ricans are a significant presence in places like Pennsylvania, which both the Trump and Harris campaigns see as a must-win state.
In a video call Tuesday with Voto Latino, Biden sounded like he was calling Trump supporters “garbage.” At issue is the placement of an apostrophe.
Biden in his remarks appeared to say:
“Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage.’ The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters — his, his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
But the White House quickly issued a transcript to put Biden’s comment in a broader context, insisting that Biden had said “supporter’s,” to refer to the comedian’s quote and not “supporters.”
“And 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 — I don’t know the Puerto Rican that — that I know — or a Puerto Rico, where I’m fr- — in my home state of Delaware, they’re good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
Later, Biden attempted to clean up his remarks on X, saying that he was referring to the comedian’s joke at the rally.
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
The Trump campaign quickly jumped on Biden’s remarks.
“President Trump is backed by Latinos, Black voters, union workers, angel moms, law enforcement officers, border patrol agents, and Americans of all faiths — and Harris, Walz, and Biden have labeled these great Americans as fascists, Nazis, and now, garbage,” Karoline Leavitt, the campaign spokeswoman said. “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.”
The campaign also called for Harris to disavow Trump’s remarks.
Also Tuesday, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla, went on stage at Trump’s Allentown, Pa., rally to demand an apology from Biden.
“We are not garbage: we are patriots who love America,” Rubio said.
Conservatives have long complained that Democrats have used disparaging labels to describe their supporters. They point to then candidate Barack Obama’s remarks about “bitter” working-class voters who “cling to guns or religion” and former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton who described Trump’s supporters as “deplorables.”
