Republicans pounce on Biden's 'garbage' remarks: NPR

President Biden's use of the word “garbage” has sparked political controversy in the final days of the presidential campaign.

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Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden sought to clarify his comments about his predecessor's supporters, while Republicans seized on his comments, saying he called half the country “trash.”

The dispute added momentum to the controversy sparked by a “joke” about Puerto Rico that was told at former President Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden – a joke that Trump has not yet directly addressed. That joke has roiled the presidential campaign in its final days, as Puerto Ricans have a significant presence in places like Pennsylvania, considered a must-win state by both the Trump and Harris campaigns.

In a video call Tuesday with Voto Latino, Biden sounded like he was calling Trump supporters “trash.” It's about the placement of an apostrophe.

Biden appeared to say in his remarks:

“The other day a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a 'floating island of trash.' The only trash I see floating out there is his Supporter – his demonization of Latinos is incomprehensible and un-American.”

But the White House quickly released a transcript to put Biden's comment into a broader context, insisting that Biden had said “supporter” to refer to the comedian's quote and not “supporter.”

“And recently a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a 'floating island of trash.' Well, let me tell you something. I don't know the Puerto Rican I know or a Puerto Rican where I am in my home state from Delaware, they are good, decent, honorable people. The only trash I see floating around out there is his Supporter – his – his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and un-American.”

Biden later tried to clarify his comments about X, saying he was referring to the comedian's joke at the rally.

The Trump campaign quickly responded to Biden's comments.

“President Trump is supported by Latinos, Black voters, unionists, angel mothers, police officers, border patrol agents and Americans of all faiths – and Harris, Walz and Biden have called these great Americans fascists, Nazis and now, garbage,” said Karoline Leavitt, the campaign spokesperson. “You can’t get it twisted: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris not only hate President Trump, they also despise the tens of millions of Americans who support him.”

The campaign also called on Harris to disavow Trump's comments.

Also on Tuesday, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., took the stage at Trump's rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to demand an apology from Biden.

“We are not trash: We are patriots who love America,” Rubio said.

Conservatives have long complained that Democrats use derogatory labels to describe their supporters. They point to then-candidate Barack Obama's comments about “bitter” working-class voters who “cling to guns or religion” and former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who called Trump's supporters “deplorable.”