Trump Campaign Challenges Harris to Disavow Biden’s ‘Garbage’ Comment

The Trump campaign launched a scathing attack on Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday evening, demanding that she “disavow” President Joe Biden’s comment that Trump supporters were “garbage.” The controversy erupted as Harris was delivering her closing argument in Washington, DC, overshadowing her final message.

The comment in question was made by Biden in response to a comedian’s insult at a Trump rally, where a speaker referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” Biden’s full quote, as reported by NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez, was: “Donald Trump has no character. He doesn’t give a damn about the Latino community…just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage?…The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.”

The White House attempted to downplay the remark, suggesting that Biden was using the phrase “supporter’s” to refer to the comedian, rather than Trump’s supporters. However, other media outlets, including CNN, were skeptical of this explanation.

The Trump campaign responded with a statement from campaign secretary Karoline Leavitt, accusing Biden and Harris of labeling Trump supporters as “fascists, Nazis, and now, garbage.” The statement went on to say that Biden and Harris “don’t just hate President Trump, they despise the tens of millions of Americans who support him.” The campaign also challenged Harris to “disavow” Biden’s remarks, listing a series of critical comments that they claimed demonstrated Biden’s disdain for Trump supporters.

As of Tuesday evening, Harris had not yet responded to the controversy, despite aides leaking to Axios that Biden was “both unpopular and undisciplined.” The incident marked a tense moment in the final stretch of the campaign, with the Trump campaign seeking to capitalize on the controversy to damage Harris’s reputation.