Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday said she ‘strongly disagrees with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” with her remarks coming after President Joe Biden received backlash after his remarks in which he appeared to call Trump supporters “garbage” on a video call with Latino activists.
Speaking to reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews before leaving for campaign events, Harris said that while Biden had “clarified his comments,” she added, “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they voted for. You heard my speech last night and continuously throughout my career: 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.” (per NBC News).
In a video call with Latino activists Tuesday evening, Biden commented about the a joke made at a Trump rally Sunday at Madison Square Garden by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, in which Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Biden seemed to reply: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable.”
After Biden’s comments drew heavy criticism from Republicans, the White House went on to send out a transcript in an attempt to clarify that Biden was not saying that Trump supporters were “garbage”, but simply tripped over his lines while meaning to say he was condemning Hinchcliffe’s remarks specifically.
Later in a post on X later Tuesday, Biden reiterated that what he said was in reference to Hinchcliffe: “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 comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.”
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