Media scrambled on Tuesday and well into Wednesday to run cover for Vice President Kamala Harris, trying harder than usual to put distance between Harris and President Joe Biden after he referred to nearly half the country as “garbage.”
While Harris was outside attempting to deliver her presidential campaign’s closing arguments, Biden — over whom Harris leapfrogged to snag the Democratic Party’s nomination despite never winning a single vote on her own — was busy making an appearance on CNN and sucking all of the oxygen out of the room.
What Biden actually said was pretty straightforward. He was responding to a joke made by comedian Kill Tony (Tony Hinchcliffe) — referring to Puerto Rico as an island made of garbage — ahead of former President Donald Trump’s speech at a rally at Madison Square Garden, and Biden said, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.”
WATCH:
WATCH: President Joe Biden: “The only garbage I see floating out there is [Trump] supporters.” pic.twitter.com/9teSUOytqC
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) October 30, 2024
As critics began to point out just how tone-deaf it was to refer to half the country as “garbage” — on the level of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” remark — legacy media outlets and Democrat pundits began to spin in an effort to keep the fallout from touching Harris and her campaign.
The White House released a statement through Biden spokesman Andrew Bates claiming that Biden had not been referring to Trump’s supporters but to their rhetoric.
MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+
“WH spox Andrew Bates says: ‘The President referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage,’” Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich shared. “Transcript shared by the WH: BIDEN: ‘And 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 — I don’t know the Puerto Rican that — that I know — or a Puerto Rico, where I’m fr- — in my home state of Delaware, they’re good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.’”
WH spox Andrew Bates says: “The President referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’”
Transcript shared by the WH:BIDEN: “And just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Well, let me… https://t.co/1aNg8Hoh46
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) October 30, 2024
“The apostrophe here is doing a lot of heavy lifting,” Heinrich added.
The New York Times fell in line, stating in a headline that Biden “appears to insult Trump supporters as ‘garbage.’”
The New York Times is covering for Biden and Kamala.
They claim Biden “appeared” to call Trump supporters garbage.
He didn’t “appear” to. He did. It’s literally on video. pic.twitter.com/hQTVDwAoT4
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 30, 2024
POLITICO ran with Biden’s explanation, relying on the apostrophe to take the sting out of the insult.
Just going to leave the extended clip of Biden calling Americans “garbage” here.
Since the media and even the White House are already trying to rewrite what Biden said. pic.twitter.com/9NmgLYSj0t
— Savanah Hernandez (@sav_says_) October 30, 2024
CNN cleaned up the quote for a chyron.
Look at the chyron. Biden did not say that. It’s an unequivocal lie.
This is CNN.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) October 30, 2024
Joan Walsh claimed that everyone who responded to the words that Biden actually said had “willfully misunderstood” his comment.
Biden’s (willfully misunderstood) “garbage” remark only “upstaged” Harris’s night on the Ellipse if the major news outlets say it did. And of course, that’s what they’re saying. Don’t believe it. https://t.co/TYaCQJqh4k
— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) October 30, 2024
“Morning Joe” also tried to clean up the mess, glossing over what Biden said to complain about the Republicans “seizing” on it and attempting to draw comparisons to Clinton and her “deplorables” comment.
NEW: MSDNC janitors Scarborough and Lemire try in vain to mop up Biden’s “garbage” mess — blame REPUBLICANS SEIZING:
“Some on the right have seized on that comment…. trying to paint this to be the next ‘basket of deplorables.'”
This is two straight minutes of why the… pic.twitter.com/9vdRiWHgsY
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) October 30, 2024
When Harris herself was approached to weigh in, she was careful not to deny that Biden had said what he said.
“He clarified his comments. Let me be clear: I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” she claimed.
Vice President Harris responds to President Biden’s ‘garbage’ comments: “He clarified his comments. Let me clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.” pic.twitter.com/kmUfjIrytz
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 30, 2024
