“Uh, listen, I think that first of all, he clarified his comments, but let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”
Vice President and Democrat nominee for president Kamala Harris addressed comments made by President Joe Biden, in which he said that supporters of Donald Trump were "garbage." Biden's White House later released the transcript of his remarks, where a well-placed apostrophe indicated that he was saying one "supporter's" remarks were "garbage," but many who heard his words instead of reading them heard what they heard.
Harris leaned into the White House's clarifying transcript. She was asked to comment on President Biden's "comment about garbage."
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View on X"Uh, listen, I think that, first of all, he clarified his comments, but let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for. You heard my speech last night and continuously throughout my career," she said, leaning into her "closing" remarks at Washington, DC's Ellipse on Tuesday night.
"I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people whether they support me or not and as president of the United States I will be a president for all Americans whether you vote for me or not. That is my responsibility and that's the kind of work I've done my entire career and I take it very seriously," she said.
This all began with a joke told by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe on Sunday at a massive, MAGA star-studded rally at Madison Square Garden. He joked that there was a garbage island in the ocean and that he thinks it's called Puerto Rico. The audience wasn't crazy about the joke and he moved on. The joke was defended by Jon Stewart.
By Monday morning, the joke, taken literally, was all mainstream and legacy media saw fit to talk about and they used the joke to further their comparison of Donald Trump to Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, while calling him a fascist and claiming his supporters are basically horrible racists. On Tuesday during an event touting infrastructure spending, Biden mentioned Puerto Rico and said he'd like to "take that guy for a swim," though it was not clear if he was talking about the comedian or Trump. Of Trump, Biden has previously said he'd like the beat him up in a school yard.
On Tuesday night, as Harris gave her much anticipated closing speech in Washigton, DC, the White House at her back, Biden was inside that same White House speaking via Zoom to the Voto Latino group. During the call, he said, "The only garbage I see floating out there are his supporters," referring to about half the American electorate. "His demonization of people is unconscionable and it's unAmerican."
After video of the Zoom call went viral and was interpreted as Biden saying that Trump supporters were garbage, in his estimation, the White House "clarified" those comments by releasing a transcript with an added apostrophe. It read:
“And just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a 'floating island of garbage.' Well, let me tell you something. I don't—I—I don't know the Puerto Rican that —that I know—or a Puerto Rico, where I'm fr- —in my home state of Delaware, they're good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s—his —his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American. It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been."
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