President Biden suggests Donald Trump supporters are “garbage” after depicting Puerto Rico in a comic book

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden he made a swing Donald Trump supporters on Tuesday as he reacted to the Republican presidential nomination weekend rally at Madison Square Garden, which was overshadowed by crude and racist rhetoric.

In a call organized by the Latino advocacy group Voto Latino, Biden responded to a cartoon that appeared at a Trump rally in which he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Biden’s initial comments were distorted.

“Recently, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Well, let me tell you something, I don’t know, I don’t know the Puerto Rican that I know, the Puerto Rican that I’m from – my home state of Delaware. They are good, decent and honorable people,” he said.

The president then added: “The only garbage floating there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unwise and un-American. It goes completely against everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”

White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden “referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’

Biden then took to social media to personally explain his words.

“I previously called hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico by a Trump supporter during his rally at Madison Square Garden garbage – that’s the only word I can think of to describe it,” he posted on X. “His demonization of Latinos is horrendous. That’s all I wanted to say. The comments at this rally do not reflect who we are as a nation.”

But by calling Trump supporters “garbage,” Biden’s tone was at odds with the message Democratic candidate Kamala Harris is trying to convey, seeking to make a broad appeal, including to disgruntled Republicans. Shortly after Biden’s comments, Harris spoke from the Ellipse in Washington, vowing to be the president who would unite the country.

“I pledge to be the president of all Americans,” said Harris, who is Biden’s vice president.

Republicans were quick to emphasize Biden’s remark. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio interrupted a Trump rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to tell what happened.

“A moment ago, Joe Biden said that our supporters, our patriots, are trash,” Rubio said. “It’s about ordinary Americans who love their country.”

Some prominent Democrats have also begun to distance themselves from Biden’s comments. In an interview with CNN, the governor of Pennsylvania. Josh Shapiro he said he would “never insult the good people of Pennsylvania or any Americans, even if they decide to support a candidate I do not support.”

The comments recalled the then Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton rejection Trump supporters at a 2016 New York fundraiser, saying half would fit in “ a pitiable basket“

Clinton later called this characterization “grossly generalized.” But it became a defiant rallying cry for many Trump supporters, who said the insult reflected the elitist attitudes of Clinton and Democrats.

Even as backlash to Biden’s response began to grow rapidly, on Tuesday night Trump was asked in an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity about a racist and vulgar joke that occurred at his New York rally. He replied, “Someone said there was a comedian who joked about Puerto Rico or something. And I have no idea who he is.

The former president added: “I don’t imagine it would be a big deal.”

With only a week left until Election Day, Biden has been hard at work stay relevantfuriously promoting his administration’s achievements while Harris races against Trump.

But his efforts to stay in the political spotlight may not always be as helpful in the fight for the top Democratic position he is now promoting. That’s because while Harris has been sharply critical of Trump for months, repeatedly calling him “unstable” and “unhinged” and even suggesting he was “unstable” and “unhinged.” fascist”, she was careful not to condemn his supporters.

In fact, the vice president campaigned heavily with the former Republican. Liz Cheney and other former GOP elected officials — hoping to woo conservative voters. The Democratic convention — and Harris’ ads — highlighted the stories of ordinary Americans who said they voted for Trump in the past and now say they support the vice president.

During Tuesday’s conference call, Biden also said that Trump “doesn’t care about the Latino community” and called for the former president to be rejected, even though the Trump campaign indicates that support for him is growing among Latinos, especially men.

“Vote to kick Donald Trump out of the White House,” Biden said. “He is a real threat not only to Latinos but to all people. Especially those who are a minority in this country.”