WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden took a swipe against Donald Trump’s supporters on Tuesday as he reacted to the Republican presidential nominee’s weekend rally at Madison Square Garden, which was overshadowed by crude and racist rhetoric.
In a call organized by the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino, Biden responded to a comic at Trump’s rally who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Biden’s initial comments were garbled.
“Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Well, let me tell you something, I don’t, I don’t know the Puerto Rican that I know, the Puerto Rico where I’m fr — in my home state of Delaware. They’re good, decent honorable people,” he said.
The president then added: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden “referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’”
In referring to Trump’s supporters as “garbage,” Biden’s tone was at odds with the message that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is seeking to present as she aims to cast a broad appeal, including to disaffected Republicans. Just minutes after Biden’s comments, Harris spoke from the Ellipse in Washington, vowing to be a president who would unite the country.
“I pledge to be a president for all Americans,” said Harris, who is Biden’s vice president.
Republicans quickly highlighted Biden’s remark. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio interrupted Trump’s rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to recount what happened.
““Moments ago Joe Biden stated that our supporters, our patriots, are garbage,” Rubio said. ”He’s talking about everyday Americans who love their country.”
Some prominent Democrats also began to distance from Biden’s comments. Speaking on CNN, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he would “never insult the good people of Pennsylvania or any Americans even if they chose to support a candidate that I didn’t support.”
The comments recalled then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton dismissing Trump supporters during a 2016 fundraiser in New York by saying that half would fit into a ” basket of deplorables.”
Clinton later called that characterization “grossly generalistic.” But it became a defiant rallying cry for many Trump backers who said the insult encapsulated the elitist attitudes of Clinton and the Democrats.
With Election Day now just a week off, Biden has worked to maintain relevance, furiously promoting his administration’s accomplishments while Harris in her race against Trump.
But his efforts to remain in the political spotlight might not always be so helpful for the top of the Democratic ticket he’s now promoting. That’s because, while Harris has been sharply critical of Trump for months, repeatedly calling him “unstable” and “unhinged” and even suggesting that he was ” fascist,” she has been careful not to decry his supporters.
In fact, the vice president has campaigned extensively with former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and other former GOP elected officials — hoping to woo conservative crossover voters. The Democratic convention — and Harris ads — have highlighted the stories of everyday Americans who talked about having voted for Trump in the past but now say they are supporting the vice president.
On Tuesday’s call, Biden also said that Trump “doesn’t give a damn about the Latino community” and urged rejection of the former president even as Trump’s campaign says its support is rising among Hispanics, particularly men.
“Vote to keep Donald Trump out of the White House,” Biden said. “He’s a true danger to, not just Latinos but to all people. Particularly those who are in a minority in this country.”
Biden suggests Trump supporters are ‘garbage’ after comic’s insult of Puerto Rico
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Biden suggests Trump supporters are ‘garbage’ after comic’s insult of Puerto Rico
- “Vote to keep Donald Trump out of the White House,” Biden said. “He’s a true danger to, not just Latinos but to all people. Particularly those who are in a minority in this country”
Sanchez hails Spain’s immigration approach as a model for EU
- Prime minister rejects critics who argue Spain’s stance fuels illegal migration to the country
MADRID: Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has hailed Spain’s openness to immigration as a model for Europe, saying it has benefited the economy and bolstered state coffers.
While other European nations have tightened their borders against newcomers under pressure from right-wing parties, Spain has championed legal immigration.
The country has opened up paths for migrants to live and work in the country legally, even as it has pushed to police its borders and block irregular migration.
Migration accounts for 80 percent of Spain’s economic growth over the past six years, and accounts for 10 percent of the country’s social security revenues, Sanchez said.
“Spain will continue to defend a migration model that works, one that works for Spain and could also help awaken an aging Europe,” the Socialist premier told a gathering of Spanish ambassadors in Madrid.
“Our model works. There is no so-called ‘pull effect,’” Sanchez added, rejecting critics who argue Spain’s pro-immigration stance fuels illegal migration to the country.
Irregular migrant arrivals to Spain fell by 42.6 percent in 2025 from the previous year to 36,775, largely due to a sharp drop in arrivals along the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands, according to Interior Ministry figures.
Spain has reached cooperation agreements with several African nations that are key sources of irregular migration to bolster the fight against smuggling networks.
Spain, the EU’s fourth-largest economy, has outperformed its peers since 2021, supported by tourism, low energy costs, domestic consumption, and foreign investment.
The government forecasts the economy will expand by 2.9 percent in 2025, more than twice the euro zone average.
