Trump is trying to turn Biden's “garbage” gaffe into campaign gold

OAnother man's trash is another man's treasure, and in the final week of the presidential election, President Joe Biden's “garbage” gaffe is evolving into a gift to former President Donald Trump.

A day after Biden appeared to call the Republican candidate's supporters “trash,” Trump sought to capitalize on the outrage, while Vice President Kamala Harris distanced herself from the comment.

“They treat you like trash. They treat our whole country like garbage,” Trump said at a rally Wednesday night in Green Bay, wearing a bright orange high-visibility vest. On the way to the rally, he was picked up from the airport in a garbage truck. “How do you like my garbage truck?” Trump asked reporters. “This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.”

Biden's remarks came during a Latino outreach call that was captured on video and was intended to bolster Harris' candidacy. Responding to a comedian's derogatory joke about Puerto Rico that called the U.S. territory a “floating island of trash,” Biden tried to defend the Puerto Rican community during Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, but ended up causing a political headache . “The only trash I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden said, further criticizing Trump’s treatment of Latinos as “unconscionable” and “un-American.”

Immediately following Biden's comments, the White House immediately clarified that the president did not mean to refer to Trump's supporters as “trash.” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden was referring to the “hateful rhetoric” from Trump's rally and not directly to his supporters. In an official transcript, a silent apostrophe was placed in “supporter.” Biden himself took to social media to reiterate his stance, claiming that the derogatory comments about Puerto Rico at Trump's rally did not reflect the nation's values.

However, the damage may have already been done. Trump and his allies quickly seized the opportunity to portray Biden's vague words as emblematic of a general disdain for working-class Americans. “Joe Biden has finally said what he and Kamala really think of our supporters,” Trump said at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Wednesday afternoon. Trump compared Biden's comments to what he described as the quality of his supporters: “You can't run America if you don't love Americans.”

In Green Bay, Trump acknowledged that his campaign was strategically turning Biden's remark into a rallying cry: “One of my people came in and said, 'Sir, you know the word trash is the hottest word right now. The hottest thing out there. “Sir, would you like to drive a garbage truck?”

Throughout the day, Trump and his surrogates amplified the narrative surrounding Biden's comments. Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, a longtime Trump supporter and Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer, addressed Biden's comments at the rally in Green Bay. “I can assure you that we are not trash,” Favre said. “How dare he say that? When I look out, I see police officers, teachers, nurses, grandparents, students. I see everyday Americans making this country great.”

Other Trump allies, including Florida Rep. Byron Donalds and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, linked Biden's “garbage” comment to Hillary Clinton's “basket of regrets” during her failed presidential bid in 2016.

“Barack Obama once called us bitter supporters, Hillary Clinton called us deplorables, Kamala Harris called us fascists and Joe Biden called us trash,” Donalds said at the Green Bay rally. “But we are none of those things; We are bloodthirsty Americans and we are taking America back.”

The incident is a stark reminder of the political dangers that Biden's comments can bring, especially in a campaign environment as tense and highly competitive as this one. Biden's gaffe also raises questions about his role in the election campaign. Although he has appeared sporadically alongside Harris, his comments have increasingly drawn criticism from within her campaign, Axios and CNN both reported earlier this week before the “garbage” incident, adding that the Harris campaign was overtures to the incumbent president To become more active, I rejected advertising for them in the final spurt.

Read more: Kamala Harris is calling on voters for the final time to change their minds about Donald Trump

Just as Clinton's infamous “basket of deplorables” comment dogged her campaign, Biden's language could undermine Harris' efforts to project a unifying image in the final stretch of the race. Harris, recognizing the potential fallout, addressed reporters about the controversy Wednesday morning, emphasizing her commitment to representing all Americans, including those who may disagree with her politically. “Let me be clear that I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” she said, trying to steer the narrative away from Biden’s unforced error.

Despite these efforts, the incident has given the Trump campaign new ammunition in its crucial final stages. A fundraising email from Trump's campaign used Biden's comments and claimed that Democrats have demeaned Trump's supporters in the past. “FIRST, Hillary called you AWESOME! THEN they called you a FASCIST! And just moments ago, Kamala’s boss Biden called you TRASH!” it read.

But Democrats have pointed out that Trump has repeatedly referred to his own political opponents as the “enemy within” this month alone and has previously used similar rhetoric to describe Democrats. “It's the people that surround them, they're scum and they want to destroy our country,” Trump said of Harris and her allies at a Sept. 7 rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin. “They are absolute garbage.”

Still, political analysts note that Biden's misstep comes at a precarious time for the Harris campaign. With less than a week until Election Day, any misjudgment – ​​especially when it involves language that is perceived as derogatory – can have far-reaching consequences. The stakes are particularly high in battleground states, where the mood of voters can change dramatically based on a few powerful words.

“It's going to be huge because this isn't some comedian saying something stupid and offensive at a rally,” Republican pollster Frank Luntz told CNN on Wednesday. “I can promise you this will increase Trump turnout. … This could be a game-changer for the final 3% — and that’s all — who still need to be convinced.”

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have both warned Democrats about the dangers of making derogatory comments toward Trump supporters. In her speech at the Democratic National Convention, Clinton urged the party to meet voters where they are, while Obama warned that a lack of mutual respect could lead to voter disillusionment.

It remains uncertain whether Biden's comments will have a significant impact on the outcome of the election. But in a deadlocked race, every word counts. As Harris tries to portray herself as a leader who can bridge divides, she now faces the burden of explaining Biden's comments while maintaining her vision of an inclusive America.

“They called us racists, bigots, fascists, deplorables, irredeemables, Nazis, and they called me Hitler,” Trump said in Green Bay. “They have harassed you, they have demonized us, they have censored us, they have deplatformed us, and they have weaponized the power of our own government against all of us. … This Tuesday is your chance to stand up and declare that you will no longer take it.”