President Biden referred to supporters of Donald Trump as “garbage” on Tuesday while criticizing a comedian’s remarks made during a rally held by the former president at Madison Square Garden.

The president expressed his outrage over a joke delivered by Tony Hinchcliffe, host of the “Kill Tony” podcast, who, during Trump’s rally on Sunday night, referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”

“Donald Trump has no character. He doesn’t give a damn about the Latino community,” Biden stated during a campaign call from the White House on Tuesday, which was first reported by NBC. “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. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”

In response to Biden’s comments, Trump, speaking at a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, criticized the president’s “garbage” label, arguing it was more offensive than Hillary Clinton’s previous characterization of his supporters as “deplorable.”

“Wow. That’s terrible,” Trump remarked regarding Biden’s statement.

“So, you have to remember Hillary [Clinton] – she said ‘deplorable’ and then she said ‘irredeemable’ …. ‘garbage’ I think is worse,” Trump noted.

During the same campaign call, Biden, 81, emphasized that Puerto Ricans are “good decent, honorable people.”

Andrew Bates, the White House deputy press secretary, clarified that “The president referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’”

In a transcript shared by the White House, Biden’s team suggested that there should have been an apostrophe in “supporters.”

“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American,” the transcript indicated.

Biden quickly took to social media to clarify his comments.

“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,” he wrote on X.

For two days, Democrats and the Harris-Walz campaign had been attacking Trump regarding Hinchcliffe’s joke, but Biden’s remarks appeared to provide Republicans with new talking points.

Additionally, Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to deliver her “closing arguments” speech at the Ellipse that evening, but Biden’s comment quickly garnered significant media attention, overshadowing her address intended to give the campaign a boost.

Trump distanced himself from Hinchcliffe, who faced widespread criticism from both parties for his joke about Puerto Rico during his opening remarks at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday.

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance promptly responded to Biden.

“This is disgusting. Kamala Harris and her boss Joe Biden are attacking half of the country. There’s no excuse for this. I hope Americans reject it,” he wrote on X.

“I don’t know him, someone put him up there,” Trump, 78, later told reporters when asked about Hinchcliffe’s remark, and his campaign previously stated that the joke did not reflect their views.

Hinchcliffe has defended his controversial statement, maintaining that it was meant as a joke.

“These people have no sense of humor,” he posted on X amid the backlash. “I love Puerto Rico and vacation there.”

During the Allentown rally, which has a significant Puerto Rican population of over 34,000, the former president received an endorsement from Zoraida Buxó, Puerto Rico’s Shadow US Senator.

As a shadow senator, Buxó does not possess voting rights in the Senate.

Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who campaigned alongside Trump in Allentown, condemned Biden’s remarks.

“He’s talking about everyday Americans who love their country and want to dream big again and support you, Mr. President,” Rubio stated. “And I hope [the Harris] campaign is about to apologize for what Joe Biden just said.”

“We are not garbage. We are patriots. We love America. Thank you for running.”

Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for Trump’s campaign, also criticized Biden’s comments.

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris hate America and don’t deserve four more years. Kamala must answer for this disgraceful attack on tens of millions of Americans.”

Biden, who has often been overshadowed by the ongoing 2024 electoral contest between Trump and Harris, stirred up Trump supporters last week with a comment about wanting to imprison the former president.

“If I said this five years ago, you’d lock me up: We gotta lock him up,” Biden remarked during a campaign stop in New Hampshire last week.

Moments later, he amended his statement: “Politically, lock him up — lock him out, that’s what we’ve got to do.”

{Matzav.com}