WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris’ day of campaigning was sidetracked Wednesday by fallout from President Biden’s attack on former President Donald Trump’s “garbage” supporters.
“First of all, he clarified his comments, but let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” Harris, 60, told reporters as she departed Washington for events in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The Democratic presidential nominee has focused heavily on wooing independents and disaffected Republicans ahead of Election Day, but those efforts were undermined Tuesday night by Biden, 81, trashing Trump’s voters as “garbage.”
“You heard in my speech last night and continuously throughout my career, I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people whether they support me or not,” Harris added.
“As president of the United States, I will be a president for all Americans whether you vote for me or not.”
Biden uttered his attack on Trump voters in a webcast with advocacy group Voto Latino — as Harris held a large rally just south of the White House with speakers identifying themselves as Republicans who had voted for Trump, 78, in past elections serving as her opening act.
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and it’s un-American,” Biden said in his dis.
The White House quickly argued that the transcript should read “supporter’s” — despite video showing Biden punctuating his comment and beginning a new through referring to Trump directly.
Biden’s aides claimed that he meant to refer to the “hateful” rhetoric from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe about Puerto Rico, rather than Trump’s supporters broadly, an excuse that was parroted by the White House’s media allies on print, TV and online.
Hinchcliffe, 40, spoke at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally Sunday and referred to the US territory as a “floating island of garbage,” which Democrats seized upon in an effort to woo the nearly half-million Puerto Ricans living in swing-state Pennsylvania.
The comic left the stage more than 4 hours before Trump spoke.
It’s unclear who arranged for Hinchcliffe’s appearance and an internal blame-game erupted among Trump supporters as backlash grew over the remarks.Other speakers at Madison Square Garden included Tesla and SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk, TV personality Dr. Phil McGraw, former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), wrestler Hulk Hogan and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Biden’s remark about Trump supporters being “garbage” was immediately likened by Republicans to rude campaign remarks that defined other campaigns, such as 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton saying that half of Trump’s supporters comprised a “basket of deplorables” and 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney saying 47% of Americans were dependent on government handouts and therefore automatic Democrats who didn’t warrant his attention.