In Allentown, Trump compares Biden's 'garbage' comment to Clinton's infamous 'deplorables' gaffe

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday invoked an infamous 2016 moment when Hillary Clinton referred to his supporters as a “basket of deplorables,” saying a comment President Joe Biden made was worse.

Trump, who was speaking to a crowd at a rally in Allentown, learned while onstage that Biden had earlier in the day seemingly referred to the former president’s supporters as “garbage.”

“Remember Hillary? She said ‘deplorable’... ‘garbage,’ I think, is worse, right?” Trump said. He added of Biden: “But he doesn’t know… Please forgive him, for he not knoweth what he said. Terrible to say it.”

Trump’s campaign and his allies are blasting Biden for the remark, which the president made while on a Zoom call with a Latino advocacy organization Tuesday. He was discussing a controversy that began Sunday when comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” during Trump’s rally in New York.

“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters — his, his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American,” Biden said. The White House said Biden was referring specifically to Hinchcliffe and released its own transcript to reporters, which showed the word “supporter’s,” a singular possessive.

But the comment, made just a week before Election Day, had already drawn swift condemnation from Republicans and comparisons to the 2016 “deplorables” comment that became a rallying cry for Trump and his backers. And it stood to undercut Vice President Kamala Harris’ closing argument that she’ll unify the country.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) notified Trump and the Allentown crowd of Biden’s comments. In the middle of Trump’s rally, the former president called Rubio to the stage, and the senator said: “Just moments ago, Joe Biden stated that our supporters are garbage.”

“I hope their campaign is going to apologize for what Joe Biden just said,” Rubio said. “We are not garbage. We are patriots who love America.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who was a contender to be Harris’ running mate, appeared on CNN Tuesday night and did not attempt to excuse Biden’s remark.

“I would never insult the good people of Pennsylvania or any Americans,” Shapiro said, “even if they chose to support the candidate that I didn’t support.”