President Joe Biden‘s remark apparently calling Donald Trump‘s supporters “garbage” quickly brought a backlash, but experts told Newsweek it is unlikely to have much of an impact on the election.
The president made the comment in response to a comedian who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally in New York City, where some speakers made crude and racist remarks on Sunday.
Puerto Ricans are “good, decent honorable people,” Biden said on a call organized by Voto Latino, a grassroots advocacy organization, on Tuesday.
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” he said in a reference to Trump, according to the White House transcript of Biden’s remarks. “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
White House spokesman Andrew Bates told Newsweek that Biden was referring “to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.'”
Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks during a campaign rally on the Ellipse on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Donald Trump has railed against Harris after President Joe Biden referred to Trump’s supporters as “garbage.”
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Biden also took to social media to clarify his remarks. “Earlier today, I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s [supporters] at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage — which is the only word I can think of to describe it,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say.”
Trump and others have compared Biden’s remark to then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton‘s comment in 2016 that half of Trump’s supporters could be placed in a “basket of deplorables” during a private fundraiser. Her remark became a rallying cry for many of Trump’s supporters.
In September, Clinton acknowledged in an opinion piece in The Washington Post that her choice of words had been “unfortunate and bad politics.” But she added that “‘deplorable’ is too kind a word for the hate and violent extremism we’ve seen from some Trump supporters.”
Trump and his campaign have sought to tie Biden’s “garbage” comment to Vice President Kamala Harris, who is trying to win over a broad base of voters—including moderate Republicans—ahead of November’s election. “I pledge to be a president for all Americans and to always put country above party and self,” she said in a speech billed as her campaign’s closing argument at the Ellipse, near the White House, on Tuesday night.
Costas Panagopoulos, a political science professor at Northeastern University, said Biden’s remark is unlikely to have the impact that Clinton’s did in 2016.
“The MAGA base is already locked in. This is unlikely to have much impact with them,” he told Newsweek.
“Biden has already walked back his comment, but perhaps more importantly, and unlike Hillary Clinton in 2016, he is not the candidate,” he continued. “Campaigns can still be held to account for what surrogates say and do on the trail, but only to a certain extent. Ultimately, the candidates’ words and actions matter much more.”
Grant Davis Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University, said Biden’s comment did remind him of Clinton’s “deplorables” remark.
“But at this point, given all we’ve heard from both sides for eight years, from ‘s***hole countries’ to ‘fascist’ and ‘Hitler,’ I don’t think this adds anything new,” he told Newsweek.
“Most voters are discounting Biden at this point and focusing on Harris. So more than anything else I think it’s just another moment to file in the political polarization and dysfunctional political dialogue folder. Given the context, this does not rise to an October surprise event,” Reeher said.
Biden’s comment “was highly ill-advised, to put it mildly,” Thomas Gift, an associate professor of political science and director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, told Newsweek.
“Still, it’s doubtful the comment will have a big negative impact on Kamala Harris’ electoral chances,” he continued. “The difference with Hillary Clinton’s ‘basket of deplorables’ remark in 2016 was that she was the candidate that year, whereas Joe Biden now isn’t. Harris can’t be held accountable for everything her boss says, and as long as she distances herself from the comment, that should be enough damage control.”
The Harris campaign has been contacted via email for comment.
Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt cited an earlier statement when contacted for comment.
“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,” Leavitt told Newsweek. Harris “does not deserve four more years. President Trump will be a president for ALL Americans.”
The Trump campaign sent out an email to supporters that said Biden “just insulted tens of millions of Americans. Will Kamala apologize and disavow Joe Biden’s remarks?”
Trump had initially told his supporters to forgive Biden for the comment but has since used it to attack Harris.
Harris “has spent all week comparing her political opponents to the most evil mass murderers in history. Now, on top of everything, Joe Biden calls our supporters ‘garbage,'” Trump wrote on X and Truth Social.
“You can’t lead America if you don’t love the American People. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have shown they are both unfit to be President of the United States,” he said.
During a CNN town hall, Harris said she believes Trump is a “fascist.” This came after John Kelly, Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, said Trump met the definition of the word and would govern like a dictator if allowed to, according to an interview with The New York Times.
