Harris urged unity in her closing argument. Biden's 'garbage' line undercut that

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President Biden's use of the word "garbage" has prompted a political controversy in the waning days of the presidential campaign. / AFP

As Vice President Harris headed out to swing states after she delivered her closing argument for her campaign — a promise to turn the page on an era of division in the country — she found herself instead having to respond to a divisive remark made by President Biden.

In a video call with a Latino voting group on Tuesday evening, Biden sounded like he was calling supporters of former President Donald Trump "garbage." Republicans took offense and drew a through line to Hillary Clinton's 2016 comment about the "basket of deplorables" supporting Trump.

Biden and the White House quickly moved to clarify his comment. But Harris — who has been trying to appeal to moderate Republican and independent voters — was peppered with questions about it as she departed for Wednesday stops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

"Let me be clear: I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for," Harris told reporters on the tarmac.

In Raleigh, she added a new line to her stump speech, asking her supporters to "please be intentional about building coalitions" in the final days of the race. "The vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us," she said.

Harris' running mate Gov. Tim Walz — who had been booked on two prominent television morning shows to talk about her closing argument speech — instead faced questions about Biden's remark.

Biden's comment has given Republicans an opening to move past the controversy unleashed by a disparaging and politically toxic joke about Puerto Rico made by a comedian on Sunday at a Madison Square Garden rally for Trump.

That joke has roiled the presidential campaign in its waning days as Puerto Ricans are a significant presence in places like Pennsylvania, which both the Trump and Harris campaigns see as a must-win state.

What Biden said

In a video call Tuesday with Voto Latino, Biden sounded like he was calling Trump supporters “garbage.”

The White House quickly issued a transcript seeking to put Biden’s comment in a broader context, insisting that Biden had said "supporter's," to refer to the comedian's quote and not "supporters."

"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."

Later, Biden attempted to clean up his remarks on x.com, saying that he was referring to the comedian’s joke at the rally.

How Republicans are responding

Biden, who has a life-long history of gaffes, has kept a low profile since he dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris. Last week at a rare campaign event, he attracted attention when he said of Trump “we got to lock him up,” before quickly adding “politically.”

On Wednesday, Trump underscored Biden's "garbage" comments during a rally in Rocky Mount, N.C.

"Speaking on a call for her campaign last night, Joe Biden finally said what he and Kamala really think of our supporters: he called them garbage," Trump said. "My response to Joe and Kamala is very simple: you can't lead America if you don't love Americans."

Trump last week called America "a garbage can for the world" as he railed against immigrants.

Conservatives have long complained that Democrats have used disparaging labels to describe their supporters.

"You know, Barack Obama said that we were bitter clingers. Hillary Clinton said we were deplorables... And then Joe Biden says that we're garbage. Well, we have news for the Democrat elites. We're none of those things. We are Americans," Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said a Trump's rally on Wednesday.

NPR's Stephen Fowler contributed to this story from Rocky Mount, N.C.