The White House sought to clarify a comment made by President Joe Biden in which he appeared to be referring to former President Donald Trump’s supporters as “garbage.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president’s remarks were taken out of context.
“Just to clarify, he was not calling Trump supporters ‘garbage,’” Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday, further explaining that the president was only referring to comedian Tony Hinchliffe and his “hateful rhetoric” about the Puerto Rican community.
“No, he does not view Trump’s supporters or anyone who supports Trump as garbage. That’s not what he views. The president has said this for more than three years now. He has said multiple times he is a president for all,” Jean-Pierre said.
The White House was referring to Trump’s Madison Square Garden campaign rally over the weekend in which comedian Tony Hinchcliffe joked that Puerto Rico was “a floating island of garbage.”
Biden later responded to the comedian’s comments during a virtual VoteLatino event.
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s – his – his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and it’s un-American,” according to a transcript released by the White House.
Notably, the transcript included an apostrophe in the word “supporter’s,” suggesting that Biden was only referring to a single supporter, not all Trump supporters. Several news outlets have cited the same quote but without the apostrophe, indicating that the president was referring broadly to all supporters of the 45th president.
Biden himself tried to clarify his own comments.
“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,” the president stated 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.”
Vice President Kamala Harris was asked to respond to Biden’s comments. Harris told reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews that Biden clarified his comments and that she strongly disagrees with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.
Trump weighed in on the controversy during a campaign rally.
“Joe Biden finally said what he and Kamala really think of our supporters,” Trump told the crowd at his rally in North Carolina on Wednesday. “He called them ‘garbage,’ and they mean it.”
Meanwhile, the comedian who made the joke about Puerto Rico has since accused Democrats of not having a sense of humor. Hinchcliffe also said he loves Puerto Rico and vacations there. He also encouraged others to “watch the whole set,“ in which he “made fun of everyone.”