Politics

/

ArcaMax

Kamala Harris distances herself from Biden's 'garbage' remark amid Puerto Rico controversy

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on

Published in Political News

Kamala Harris Wednesday sought to distance herself from President Biden’s controversial remarks that Republicans claim labeled their supporters as “garbage.”

” I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” said Harris, adding that she hasn’t talked to Biden about the controversy. “I will be a president for all Americans whether you vote for me or not.”

Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz echoed Biden’s own clarification that the “garbage” remark was a reference only to the comedian who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” at former President Trump’s stormy Madison Square Garden rally over the weekend.

“President Biden was very clear that he’s speaking about the rhetoric we heard,” Walz said.

Walz added that Harris is the nominee who “makes the message,” effectively distancing the ticket from Biden a bit in the closing week of the campaign.

“The vice president and I have made it absolutely clear that we want everyone as a part of this,” Walz said on ABC News.

Biden made the controversial “garbage” remark during a Zoom call with Latino leaders Tuesday.

He said: “the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s… his … his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable,” according to a White House transcript that was amended to add the apostrophe in “supporter’s” after it initially read “supporters.”

Republicans quickly pounced on the comments, arguing Biden was referring to Trump supporters, plural, as “garbage.”

 

They compared the remarks to Hillary Clinton’s infamous 2016 attack on MAGA loyalists as a “basket of deplorables,” a comment many credited with solidifying support for Trump ahead of his victory in that election.

Biden quickly clarified that he was only referring to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe who made the hateful jokes at the MSG rally, not Trump supporters as a whole.

“That’s all I meant to say,” Biden tweeted.

Democrats were hoping to quickly put the controversy over Biden’s remarks behind them, especially since they want to keep Trump on the political hot seat for his refusal to apologize for the insults at his rally, which targeted Puerto Ricans as well as other Latinos and Blacks.

With early voting in full swing and Election Day looming on Tuesday, the remarks could swing Latino voters against Trump in some of the seven battleground states, especially Pennsylvania, the single most pivotal swing state.

An outsized 4% share of the Keystone State’s voters are Latino and about half of those are of Puerto Rican descent, a potent voting bloc.

Trump, who hopes to improve his support among Latinos, failed to apologize or even mention the controversy in a speech in the Latino-heavy city of Allentown, Pennsylvania.

He appeared to shrug off the outrage felt by many Puerto Ricans when he told Fox News, “I can’t imagine it’s a big deal.”


©2024 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

ACLU

ACLU

By The ACLU
Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman

By Amy Goodman
Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams

By Armstrong Williams
Austin Bay

Austin Bay

By Austin Bay
Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro

By Ben Shapiro
Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey

By Betsy McCaughey
Bill Press

Bill Press

By Bill Press
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

By Cal Thomas
Christine Flowers

Christine Flowers

By Christine Flowers
Clarence Page

Clarence Page

By Clarence Page
Danny Tyree

Danny Tyree

By Danny Tyree
David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi

By David Harsanyi
Debra Saunders

Debra Saunders

By Debra Saunders
Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager

By Dennis Prager
Dick Polman

Dick Polman

By Dick Polman
Erick Erickson

Erick Erickson

By Erick Erickson
Froma Harrop

Froma Harrop

By Froma Harrop
Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum

By Jacob Sullum
Jamie Stiehm

Jamie Stiehm

By Jamie Stiehm
Jeff Robbins

Jeff Robbins

By Jeff Robbins
Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson

By Jessica Johnson
Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower

By Jim Hightower
Joe Conason

Joe Conason

By Joe Conason
Joe Guzzardi

Joe Guzzardi

By Joe Guzzardi
John Micek

John Micek

By John Micek
John Stossel

John Stossel

By John Stossel
Josh Hammer

Josh Hammer

By Josh Hammer
Judge Andrew Napolitano

Judge Andrew Napolitano

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Laura Hollis

Laura Hollis

By Laura Hollis
Marc Munroe Dion

Marc Munroe Dion

By Marc Munroe Dion
Michael Barone

Michael Barone

By Michael Barone
Michael Reagan

Michael Reagan

By Michael Reagan
Mona Charen

Mona Charen

By Mona Charen
Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

By Oliver North and David L. Goetsch
R. Emmett Tyrrell

R. Emmett Tyrrell

By R. Emmett Tyrrell
Rachel Marsden

Rachel Marsden

By Rachel Marsden
Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

By Rich Lowry
Robert B. Reich

Robert B. Reich

By Robert B. Reich
Ruben Navarrett Jr

Ruben Navarrett Jr

By Ruben Navarrett Jr.
Ruth Marcus

Ruth Marcus

By Ruth Marcus
S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp

By S.E. Cupp
Salena Zito

Salena Zito

By Salena Zito
Star Parker

Star Parker

By Star Parker
Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore

By Stephen Moore
Susan Estrich

Susan Estrich

By Susan Estrich
Ted Rall

Ted Rall

By Ted Rall
Terence P. Jeffrey

Terence P. Jeffrey

By Terence P. Jeffrey
Tim Graham

Tim Graham

By Tim Graham
Tom Purcell

Tom Purcell

By Tom Purcell
Veronique de Rugy

Veronique de Rugy

By Veronique de Rugy
Victor Joecks

Victor Joecks

By Victor Joecks
Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Allyn Root

By Wayne Allyn Root

Comics

John Darkow Bill Day Drew Sheneman Christopher Weyant Bill Bramhall Eric Allie