This week, President Joe Biden caused some serious uproar among his party and U.S. voters when he appeared to have labeled some of Donald Trump’s supporters as “garbage.” The comments were made during a virtual get-out-the-vote event aimed at Latino voters and have been likened to Hillary Clinton’s well-known “basket of deplorables” comment from the 2016 election.
At the time, Biden was addressing a comment made by Tony Hinchcliffe, a 40-year-old comedian who spoke at a recent Trump rally in Madison Square Garden. Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” In response to this controversial statement, Biden said, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
However, some people, including Republicans, accused the Democratic President of disrespecting Trump supporters. The Trump campaign and its “supporters” quickly jumped on those comments, trying to paint Biden as someone who looks down on a major segment of the American electorate.
With the internet practically blowing up because of this comment, Biden’s team has tried to clarify his statement to news outlets like CNN, insisting that the president had meant to say “supporter’s” rather than “supporters,” referring specifically to the individual who made the derogatory comment about Puerto Rico. The White House spokesperson, Andrew Bates, emphasized that Biden was calling the “hateful rhetoric” at the former President’s rally “garbage,” not Trump supporters in general.
Despite the clarification, the incident has become an unwelcome distraction for the Biden administration. Vice President Kamala Harris even sought to distance herself from the controversy, telling reporters that she “strongly” disagrees with criticizing people based on who they vote for.
Harris also reiterated her commitment to representing all Americans, regardless of their political affiliations.
The episode has drawn comparisons to Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment from 2016, which many believe contributed to her election loss. While Biden’s remarks are not as explicit as Clinton’s, they have nonetheless provided ammunition for his political opponents.