Biden calls Trump supporters 'garbage' during Harris campaign event as VP promises unity at Ellipse rally
'Shades of Hillary’s deplorables… I repeat: Lots of 2016 vibes in this election,' one X commenter said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden went viral Tuesday night for comments disparaging Trump supporters as his No. 2, Vice President Kamala Harris, made a major speech to voters calling for unity from the Ellipse right outside the White House.
During a virtual Harris campaign call with Voto Latino, Biden took a swipe at former President Trump's rally in Madison Square Garden, which made headlines after insult comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made jokes mocking different ethnic groups, with one joke referring to Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage."
"The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters," Biden said. "His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and it is un-American."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}JON STEWART ADMITS HE FINDS WIDELY CRITICIZED TRUMP RALLY COMEDIAN FUNNY
President Biden referred to Trump supporters as "garbage" during a virtual Harris campaign call. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The comment quickly went viral and sparked swift condemnation from critics.
"This is disgusting," Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance reacted. "Kamala Harris and her boss Joe Biden are attacking half of the country. There's no excuse for this. I hope [Americans] reject it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Kamala Harris was deeply outraged by a comedian’s joke. If she has any decency or integrity, she will condemn her partner Joe Biden’s despicable statement calling half the country garbage," Sen Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said.
"Woof. Calls half the country ‘garbage’ while Harris speaks," CNN contributor Scott Jennings said.
"Well there he is. So outraged by Tony the comedian that the sitting president borrows the garbage characterization to apply it to half of America. I imagine the cable news set will be all over this tomorrow, right?" Ruthless podcast co-host Josh Holmes wondered.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Just amazing that Biden managed to completely step on Kamala's speech in the worst way possible," Fox News contributor Joe Concha said.
"Shades of Hillary’s deplorables… I repeat: Lots of 2016 vibes in this election," Jewish Insider editor in chief Josh Kraushaar wrote.
"If you’re wondering why Biden wasn’t at the rally that Kamala Harris just held in front of his home," Business Insider reporter Bryan Metzger quipped.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Trump himself reacted to the "terrible" comment while speaking at a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
"Remember Hillary? She said ‘deplorable' and then said ‘irredeemable,’ right? But she said ‘deplorable.' That didn't work out. ‘Garbage’ I think is worse," Trump said to his supporters. "But he doesn't know- you have to please forgive him. Please forgive him. For he not knoweth what he said."
"And I'm convinced he likes me more than he likes Kamala," Trump quipped.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former President Trump slammed President Biden's comment calling his supporters "garbage," saying it's "worse" than Hillary Clinton's infamous "basket of deplorables" remark in 2016. (AP )
TOP PUERTO RICAN OFFICIAL ENDORSES FORMER PRESIDENT AFTER COMIC'S RALLY SET RUFFLES FEATHERS
Biden attempted to clarify his comments on social media.
"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," Biden wrote on X. "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."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A White House spokesperson had previously told Fox News, "The President referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’" The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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Biden's comment comes in stark contrast to the message Harris gave to voters outside the White House in what many have called her final sales pitch to the American people ahead of the election.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I pledge to seek common ground and common sense solution to make your life better. I am not looking to score political points. I am looking to make progress. I pledge to listen to experts, to those who will be impacted by the decisions I make and to people who disagree with me," Harris said at the Ellipse rally. "Unlike Donald Trump, I don't believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I'll give them a seat at the table."
This will be updated as the story develops.
Fox News' Yael Halon and Alexa Moutevelis contributed to this report.