(The Hill) — Former President Trump on Wednesday climbed into a campaign-themed garbage truck in his motorcade in Wisconsin in an effort to draw attention to comments made by President Biden in which he seemingly called Trump supporters “garbage.”
“How do you like my garbage truck? This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden,” Trump said from the passenger seat of the truck, which was adorned with a Trump campaign sticker and Trump flag.
Trump campaign staff widely shared photos of the truck and the former president in the passenger seat as photographers snapped pictures. The campaign has tried to capitalize on outrage among Trump supporters over Biden’s remark, even as Vice President Harris has distanced herself from the comment.
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Republican presidential nominee former President Trump talks to reporters as he sits in a garbage truck, Oct. 30, 2024, in Green Bay, Wis. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson, AP Photo)
“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,” Harris told reporters earlier Wednesday.
Biden sparked backlash Tuesday night when he appeared to compare Trump’s supporters to garbage while commenting on a racist joke a comedian made at a Trump rally days earlier likening Puerto Rico to an “island of garbage.”
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The White House, in a statement, argued that the president was being misinterpreted and had been referring to the rhetoric at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally Sunday as “garbage,” not the Republican’s supporters.
It also provided a fuller transcript of the comment, which included an apostrophe with “supporter’s,” to indicate Biden was referring to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s “demonization of Latinos” as “garbage.”
Hinchcliffe delivered a comedy set at Trump’s New York City rally, during which he mocked Latinos, Jews and Black men and made a joke calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.”
A video clip of Biden’s remarks also circulated and quickly went viral.
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden appears to say in the clip. “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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Numerous Republicans compared the remarks to then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s 2016 comments when she said some of the former president’s supporters were “deplorables.”
Trump himself has faced scrutiny for his rhetoric toward his opponents, who he has described as “the enemy from within” and “sick people.” He has has also at recent rallies referred to the U.S. as a “garbage can” for the world, citing the surge in immigration in recent years.
