Five Days Before Election, Trump Seizes on Biden’s “Garbage” Comment
In the lead-up to the election, former President Donald Trump and his campaign are leveraging President Joe Biden’s recent “garbage” remark to suggest it reflects how Democrats view a significant portion of the American populace. Trump, now the Republican nominee, has made numerous disparaging comments himself, including calling his opponents “garbage” and “scum.” Just last week, he referred to the U.S. as the “garbage can for the world” and labeled his adversaries the “enemy within.”
The controversy erupted after Biden appeared to call Trump supporters “garbage” during a campaign Zoom call on Tuesday night. In response to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s derogatory comment about Puerto Rico at a Trump rally, Biden said, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters… His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and un-American.” Biden later clarified that he was referring to Hinchcliffe, not all Trump supporters.
By Wednesday, Trump was fully capitalizing on the incident, showcasing props at a rally. He climbed into a Trump-branded garbage truck while donning an orange safety vest, stating, “How do you like my garbage truck? This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.”
The Trump campaign aims to turn Biden’s “garbage” comment into a potent symbol akin to Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” remark from 2016, which Republicans used to paint her as elitist. However, this tactic has also drawn attention back to Trump’s own inflammatory language. During a rally in September, Trump labeled those surrounding Vice President Harris as “scum” and “absolute garbage,” comments that the anti-Trump Lincoln Project resurfaced amid the current controversy.
Harris’s campaign has highlighted Trump’s polarizing rhetoric to argue he is being hypocritical. “The candidate who called America a ‘trash can’ is riding around in a garbage truck for fun,” said Harris campaign spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika on social media.
At a rally in Tempe, Arizona, Trump recently stated that migrants crossing the southern border have turned the U.S. into “a garbage can for the world.” He has since repeated this phrase in various speeches. When pressed about his use of terms like “garbage” and “scum,” Trump’s national press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, “Joe Biden labeled Trump supporters as garbage. He insulted more than half of the country.”
Trump has frequently employed the term “human scum” to describe those opposing him, extending this language to his critics. In a Truth Social post, he referred to “human scum” working to “destroy our Once Great Country” and criticized those involved in a biopic about him.
The former president has also expressed a willingness to use military forces against what he calls the “enemy from within.” During a Fox News interview, he described “the enemy within” as a greater threat than foreign adversaries like China and Russia, suggesting that the National Guard or military might be necessary to address this issue.
Meanwhile, Harris has distanced herself from Biden’s “garbage” remarks, stating that she disagrees with any criticism based on people’s voting choices. Following Biden’s comment, he quickly clarified that he was referring to the comedian, emphasizing that the sentiments expressed at the rally do not represent the nation’s values.
