US President Joe Biden on Tuesday caused a firestorm when he appeared to call supporters of former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump “garbage”.
Biden was weighing in on comments made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe during Trump’s rally in New York on Sunday, in which Hinchcliffe described Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage”.
"The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His hatred — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American,” Biden said in a Zoom call with the organization Voto Latino. “It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been."
The comments caused an uproar and were condemned.
Senator J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate, said, "This is disgusting. Kamala Harris and her boss Joe Biden are attacking half of the country. There's no excuse for this. I hope Americans reject it."
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said, "He's talking about the Border Patrol. He's talking about nurses. He's talking about teachers. He's talking about everyday Americans who love their country and want to dream big again...and I hope their campaign is about to apologize for what Joe Biden just said. We are not garbage. We are patriots who love America."
Trump’s campaign blasted the comments as well.
"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. 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. Kamala does not deserve four more years. President Trump will be a president for ALL Americans,” said Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates sought to clarify the remarks and explained that Biden “referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’”
Biden later took to social media site X to clarify his comments.
“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 comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation,” the President wrote.