Updated October 30, 2024 at 13:29 PM ET
As Vice President Harris headed out to swing states after she delivered her closing argument for her campaign — a promise to turn the page on an era of division in the country — she found herself instead having to respond to a divisive remark made by President Biden.
In a video call with a Latino voting group on Tuesday evening, Biden sounded like he was calling supporters of former President Donald Trump "garbage." Republicans took offense and drew a through line to Hillary Clinton's 2016 comment about the "basket of deplorables" supporting Trump.
Biden and the White House quickly moved to clarify his comment. But Harris — who has been trying to appeal to moderate Republican and independent voters — was peppered with questions about it as she departed for Wednesday stops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
"Let me be clear: I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for," Harris told reporters on the tarmac.
In Raleigh, she added a new line to her stump speech, asking her supporters to "please be intentional about building coalitions" in the final days of the race. "The vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us," she said.
Vice President Harris: I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for. You heard my speech last night. I believe the work that I do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not. I will be a President for all Americans pic.twitter.com/zVk3oEcpBG
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 30, 2024
Harris' running mate Gov. Tim Walz — who had been booked on two prominent television morning shows to talk about her closing argument speech — instead faced questions about Biden's remark.
Biden's comment has given Republicans an opening to move past the controversy unleashed by a disparaging and politically toxic joke about Puerto Rico made by a comedian on Sunday at a Madison Square Garden rally for Trump.
That joke has roiled the presidential campaign in its waning days as Puerto Ricans are a significant presence in places like Pennsylvania, which both the Trump and Harris campaigns see as a must-win state.
What Biden said
Biden tonight in condemning the joke about Puerto Rico.
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) October 30, 2024
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his [supporters/supporter’s]–his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
The WH says Biden was talking about the comedian—“supporter’s”
The clip: pic.twitter.com/F7VRcyBFJu
In a video call Tuesday with Voto Latino, Biden sounded like he was calling Trump supporters “garbage.”
The White House quickly issued a transcript seeking to put Biden’s comment in a broader context, insisting that Biden had said "supporter's," to refer to the comedian's quote and not "supporters."
Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage—which is the only word I can think of to describe it. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That's all I meant to say. The…
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 30, 2024
Later, Biden attempted to clean up his remarks on x.com, saying that he was referring to the comedian’s joke at the rally.
How Republicans are responding
Biden, who has a life-long history of gaffes, has kept a low profile since he dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris.
Last week at a rare campaign event, he attracted attention when he said of Trump “we got to lock him up,” before quickly adding “politically.”
Conservatives have long complained that Democrats have used disparaging labels to describe their supporters.
On Wednesday, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., pointed to Biden's comments at Trump's rally in Rocky Mount, N.C..
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"You know, Barack Obama said that we were bitter clingers. Hillary Clinton said we were deplorables... And then Joe Biden says that we're garbage. Well, we have news for the Democrat elites. We're none of those things. We are Americans," Donalds said.
Biden's remark landed as Trump was onstage at a rally in Allentown, Pa., where Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla, went on stage to demand an apology from Biden.
“We are not garbage: we are patriots who love America,” Rubio said.
The Trump campaign said it was an example of name-calling by the Harris campaign.
"President Trump is backed by Latinos, Black voters, union workers, angel moms, law enforcement officers, border patrol agents, and Americans of all faiths — and Harris, Walz, and Biden have labeled these great Americans as fascists, Nazis, and now, garbage," Karoline Leavitt, Trump's campaign spokesperson said in a statement.
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