President Biden made his first campaign appearance in several months, popping up just long enough to put his foot in his mouth and refer to Donald Trump supporters as "garbage."
The statement followed a controversial remark made by a comedic opening act at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally. Podcast Shock Jock Tony Hinchcliff referred to Puerto Rico as an island of garbage as one of the first speakers at the NYC event, appearing on stage hours before the former President. For his part, Trump has called the joke “nasty… [and] stupid,” distancing himself from the comment and highlighting his administration’s quick response following the hurricane in 2017 that devastated the island.
Biden allegedly retaliated during a Zoom call with Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino, though the President has been keeping an otherwise low profile since he announced his intention to step down from campaigning. It was later reported that the White House had initially attempted to alter the transcript of the call, adding an apostrophe that substantively changed the tone of the President's remarks.
The news broke midway through Trump's following rally, hosted in the majority Latino city of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Marco Rubio joined the former President on stage during his address in order to report Biden's comments, drawing loud boos from the audience. Approximately a quarter of Allentown's population- some 47,000 people- identify as Puerto Rican, making it both an ironic and ideal stop on the campaign trail following Hinchcliffe's tacky joke. Despite the weekend's controversy, the city showed up enthusiastically to support Trump, filling the 10,000-seat PPL arena after many waited hours in line.
Hispanic figures such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Puerto Rican Shadow Senator Zoraida Buxó gave partial remarks in Spanish. Buxó urged voters to avoid being distracted by "propaganda, emotional manipulation, and distortion of the truth and facts." The invocation was given in both English and Spanish by Roberto Albino, director of Hispanic engagement for the Pennsylvania Family Institute, a non-profit that "advocates for life, family, marriage and religious liberty." Former city mayoral candidate Tim Ramos, also Puerto Rican, rounded out the almost entirely Hispanic list of speakers, also lending his enthusiastic endorsement to President Trump.
Whether speakers were selected based on Allentown's organic population makeup or more due to the controversial remarks made in New York City remains unknown.
Biden's suggestion of MAGA voters being garbage harkens back to Hillary Clinton's infamous remarks during a 2016 campaign speech during which she called Trump supporters "a basket of deplorables." The comments backfired, with the Trump Team reappropriating the phrase and using it as a badge of honor. Some speculate that the commentary spurred momentum toward Trump's eventual victory, with Clinton herself admitting the moment hurt her chances in 2017. It seems Biden has forgotten, as Hillary once did, that Trump supporters both watch the news and vote, and his careless comments could be the tipping point towards a Trump win come November 5th.
Hilary Gunn is a Connecticut native with a degree in Criminal Justice from the George Washington University. She works for a nonprofit and has previously collaborated with the CT GOP as an activist, political campaign manager and field director, and social media organizer. She is currently serving in her fourth term of municipal office and has previously acted as a delegate on the Republican Town Committee.