WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Tuesday night spoke out about racist jokes at President Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, sparking outrage from Republicans.
At the event, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash.” He also made crude, offensive, and racist comments about Latinos and Black people.
On Tuesday, during a video call aimed at reaching out to Latino voters, Biden appeared to defend the Puerto Rican community and criticize either Trump supporters or Hinchcliffe.
“They are a good, decent, honorable people,” Biden said of the Puerto Rican community. “The only trash floating around out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and un-American. It’s totally against everything we’ve done. It is contrary to.”
The White House quickly went into damage control mode, with press secretary Andrew Bates saying in a statement that Mr. Biden “called the hateful comments he made at the Madison Square Garden rally trash.”
The White House also sought to show that Biden was not referring to Trump supporters as “trash,” but rather that he was overstepping his word and specifically condemning Hinchcliffe’s comments. Sent.
“And just the other day, a speaker at a rally referred to Puerto Rico as a ‘floating island of trash,'” the White House notes. “So let me tell you something: I don’t know—I don’t know—or I don’t know any Puerto Ricans in Delaware, where I’m from, but they are good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating there is that his demonization of his supporters – his – Latinos is unconscionable. It’s un-American. It goes completely against everything we’ve ever done.”
Shortly after, Biden also posted an explanation for X.
“Earlier today, I called the hateful anti-Puerto Rican rhetoric spewed by Trump supporters at the Madison Square Garden rally trash, and that’s the only word I can think of to describe it. “The demonization of Latinos is not a conscience. That’s all I wanted to say. The comments at that rally do not reflect who we are as a nation,” he wrote. Ta.
Still, the controversy distracted from what was supposed to be a big night for Vice President Kamala Harris. Vice President Harris was about to give a crucial “closing argument” speech at the Ellipse in Washington — where President Trump gave a speech before taking office. On January 6, 2021, supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
“It’s time to turn the page on the drama, the conflict, the fear, the division. It’s time for a new generation of American leadership,” Harris said Tuesday night. “And I’m ready to provide that leadership.”
Instead, the spotlight was on Biden, and Republicans used his remarks to undermine the message of unity that Harris spoke in her speech.
Chris Lacivita, President Trump’s co-campaign manager, responded to Biden’s remarks about I wrote.
Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, President Trump’s running mate, said on X: Kamala Harris and her boss Joe Biden are attacking half the country. There is no excuse for this. I hope Americans reject it. ”
A Trump campaign official said that once the campaign became aware of the comments, it acted quickly to get them to Trump, who was in the middle of a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was already scheduled to take the stage, so campaign staff gave him a memo of what Biden had said. Mr. Rubio read it to Mr. Trump.
“That’s terrible. That’s what it says,” Trump said.
Trump then brought up comments made by Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign, saying that “half” of Trump’s supporters fall into the “basket of deplorables.” The comment was widely seen as hurting her in the election.
“I think trash is worse, you know?” Trump said. “But he doesn’t know. You forgive him. Forgive him, he doesn’t know what he said.”
Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was briefed on Biden’s comments on CNN Tuesday night. He said it was the first time he heard them speak.
“I will never disrespect the good people of Pennsylvania or any other American, even if they choose to support a candidate I do not support,” he responded.
“That’s certainly not the word I would choose,” he added. “I think it’s important to continue to focus on the contrast between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and not attack supporters of either candidate.”
In an interview with Fox News this month, host Bret Baier asked Harris if she thought Trump supporters were “stupid.”
“Oh, God, I would never say that about the American people,” she replied. “And the fact is, if you listen to Donald Trump’s words or watch his rallies, he is someone who tends to degrade, belittle, and degrade the American people. He talks about the enemy within, the enemy within; Someone who talks about the American people and hints at directing the American military against the American people.”
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Biden’s remarks Tuesday night.
“The final days of this campaign are shaping up to be a sprint to the bottom of the barrel of rhetoric. Want to know why this race is so close? It’s because both campaigns… It’s like the agent is trying to find a new and innovative way to lose. Cue the head slap.”
