Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters Wednesday “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for” when asked about President Joe Biden’s gaffe Tuesday that was widely interpreted as calling former President Donald Trump’s supporters “garbage,” though she largely avoided directly addressing the remark as Trump’s campaign has used it to attack her.
Vice President Kamala Harris talks to reporters before boarding Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews ... [+]
Harris first said Biden “clarified his comments,” in which he appeared to say on a call with Latino voters “the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters, his, his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable.”
A White House transcript read “his supporter’s—his—his demonization of Latinos,” punctuation that appeared to reference comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s description of Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” during Trump’s rally Sunday.
When asked if she was concerned about the comments’ impact on the election, Harris didn’t say “yes” or “no,” and told reporters “I respect the challenges that people face, I respect the fact that we all have so much more in common than what separates us.”
When asked if she sympathizes with any voters who feel insulted or offended by Biden’s remark, Harris pivoted to discussing her campaign and said she would be traveling to three states Wednesday and “talking with the American people about the fact that first of all, I get it in terms of the concerns they have about challenges like the price of groceries.”
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The Trump campaign immediately seized on Biden’s comments Tuesday, accusing him in a statement of insulting “tens of millions of Americans” and questioning whether Harris would “apologize and disavow” the remark. Biden clarified in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was referring to Hinchcliffe’s “hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico” on the call, adding “that’s all I meant to say.” Hinchcliffe’s joke has been widely rebuked by both sides of the aisle, and Trump has sought to distance himself from the remark, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity “I have no idea who he is . . . and I don’t want to hear of him.” Trump also said he doesn’t know who put Hinchcliffe in the speaker lineup “but somebody said some bad things,” adding “I can’t imagine that it’s a big deal.”
Biden’s comments Tuesday were the second time in the past two weeks his remarks have sparked controversy and used as an attack line by Trump’s supporters. At a campaign event in New Hampshire last week, Biden said “we got to lock him up,” before quickly adding “politically lock him up. Lock him out. That’s what we have to do,” referring to Trump, who subsequently described Biden’s comment as “election interference.”
Biden Attempts To Clarify ‘Garbage’ Comment As Republicans Say It Insults All Trump Supporters (Forbes)
Trump Says ‘I Don’t Know’ Comedian Who Made Puerto Rico Joke—And Calls MSG Rally A ‘Love Fest’ (Forbes)