Kamala Harris has said she “strongly” disagrees with “any criticism of people based on who they vote for” as Donald Trump and his Republican allies slammed her for comments made by Joe Biden that appeared to call Trump supporters “garbage”.
“First of all [Biden] clarified his comments. But let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” Ms Harris told reporters on Wednesday before embarking on a whistle-stop tour of three key swing states with less than a week to go until election day.
Mr Biden, who has largely avoided the campaign trail since he suspended his re-election bid, made the comments on Tuesday evening in a video call with the non-profit organisation Voto Latino as Ms Harris, his vice-president, was addressing tens of thousands at a high-profile campaign rally in Washington.
Mr Biden referred to Mr Trump’s controversial weekend campaign rally in New York, where a comedian sparked outrage by describing Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage”.
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“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters, his, his demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American,” Mr Biden appeared to say on the call. “It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”
The White House later issued a transcript suggesting Mr Biden referenced a single supporter – “supporter’s” – rather than all Trump voters. Mr Biden said in a post on X that he was referring to the “hateful rhetoric ... spewed by Trump’s supporter”.
“You heard my speech last night,” Ms Harris told reporters on Wednesday.
“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.”
But the clean-up effort did little to stem outrage from Mr Trump and his Republican allies, who were quick to exploit the gaffe and pin the blame on Ms Harris.
“There’s no way to spin it: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris don’t just hate President Trump, they despise the tens of millions of Americans who support him,” said Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign. “Kamala does not deserve four more years. President Trump will be a president for ALL Americans.”
The Trump campaign sent an upper-case fundraising text to supporters: “Kamala’s boss Joe Biden just called all my supporters garbage!”
On stage at a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday night, Mr Trump compared Mr Biden’s comments to Hillary Clinton’s now infamous remark at a 2016 fundraiser, where she described Trump voters as a “basket of deplorables”.
“Remember Hillary? She said deplorable,” Mr Trump said. “Garbage I think is worse, right? But he doesn’t know, you have to please forgive him.”
Mr Biden’s fumble comes at a critical time for both presidential campaigns, with just days to go until election day on November 5th.
The Financial Times poll tracker shows Mr Trump and Ms Harris in a virtual tie in the seven swing states that are likely to determine who wins the White House.
Tim Walz, Ms Harris’s running mate, was asked by an interviewer on Wednesday morning whether Mr Biden’s comments “undercut” the Harris campaign’s “message of unity”.
“No, certainly not,” Mr Walz replied in an appearance on CBS News, adding: “The president has clarified his remark, but let’s be very clear: The vice-president and I have made it absolutely clear that we want everyone as a part of this.” - Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024
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