Trump supporters called 'garbage' | Biden misstep embarrasses Harris

Trump supporters called 'garbage' | Biden misstep embarrasses Harris

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(Washington) By calling Donald Trump supporters “rubbish”, Joe Biden did not just make yet another blunder. He confirmed that he was a liability for Kamala Harris, who is now keeping him as far away from her campaign as possible.




The octogenarian president made this mistake on Tuesday, in a video call during which he criticized the comments, denounced as racist, of a comedian. He compared Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage” during a Donald Trump rally on Sunday.

“The only garbage I see floating around here is his supporters,” Joe Biden said, sparking consternation in the Democratic camp.

The White House and the unpopular president himself quickly reversed course, asserting that only the comedian's “odious rhetoric” was targeted, and not Donald Trump's supporters.

But the damage was done and the Republicans did not waste a minute to exploit the blunder.

Apologies demanded

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris hate America,” said Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for the Republican candidate. “Kamala must answer for this shameful attack on tens of millions of Americans. »

“It’s terrible to say that,” insisted Donald Trump, at a meeting in Pennsylvania. During this same rally, Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican tenor, demanded an apology from Joe Biden. “We are not trash. We are patriots who love America,” he said.

The day after an emblematic evening which saw her bring together tens of thousands of activists in Washington, Kamala Harris found herself on Wednesday having to limit the damage caused.

PHOTO BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Kamala Harris in Maryland on October 30, 2024

“I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” she said.

In the Democratic camp, everyone keeps in mind the resounding mistake made by Hillary Clinton during a fundraising evening in September 2016 in New York. She estimated that half of Donald Trump's supporters were “pitiful” people.

Despite the public regrets of the Democratic candidate, this contemptuous expression was proudly repeated over and over again by the Trumpists, with the billionaire even making a television advertisement for it.

And, when it came time to take stock of Hillary Clinton's defeat, the impact of the insult was considered notable.

Last week, Joe Biden gave the Democrats another cold sweat, declaring, still regarding Donald Trump: “We have to lock him up.” He then corrected the situation, claiming to have meant “lock him up politically”.

Could his latest gaffe work against Kamala Harris come voting time? “It’s possible. It’s so tight that anything can count,” John Hansen, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, told AFP.

In video – Controversial remarks about Puerto Rico: Trump says he does not know the comedian


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