‘I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,’ Harris said.
Vice President Kamala Harris sought to distance herself from President Joe Biden’s comment that appeared to refer to Trump supporters as “garbage,” as the former president told supporters at a Trump rally that Harris and Biden “mean it.”
During a Zoom call with Voto Latino, a nonprofit aimed at registering Latinos to vote, Biden on Oct. 29 referenced comments made about Puerto Rico by a stand-up comedian during Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden earlier this week.
“Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage,” Biden said.
The president then added: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”
The White House released a transcript of Biden’s Oct. 29 remarks that suggested the president had referred to a single person—the comedian—instead of Trump supporters writ large. “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s,” the text read.
Later, on Oct. 30, at a Trump rally in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the former president rhetorically linked Biden’s comments to Harris.
“And now, speaking on a call for her campaign last night, Joe Biden finally said what he and Kamala really think of our supporters. He called them garbage,” Trump said. “And they mean it. … My response to Joe and Kamala is very simple: You can’t lead America if you don’t love Americans. … And you can’t be president if you hate the American people.”
Harris distanced herself from Biden’s comment when speaking to reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews on the morning of Oct. 30.
