Joe Biden just made his own 'garbage' gaffe when hitting back at Trump rally speaker’s Puerto Rico comments

Remarks about Puerto Rico made by comedian Tony Hinchliffe at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday are continuing to make headlines in the run-up to the US presidential election next week, after Joe Biden’s use of the line to clap back at the Republican sparked a PR disaster for the democrats.

Trump’s New York event, which the businessman himself described as “an absolute love-fest”, also saw Twitter/X founder Elon Musk and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson address the crowd.

But it was arguably Hinchcliffe’s speech which has sparked conversation on social media and several news reports, as he told the crowd: “I don’t know if you guys know this, but there is literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah, I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

The comedian also claimed Latinos “love making babies” and that “they come inside, just like they do to our country”, and commented about Black people and watermelons – referencing a racist trope and stereotype.

Trump later distanced himself from the remarks – though did not condemn them – and said he did not hear what Hinchliffe said, telling ABC: “I don’t know him, someone put him up there. I don’t know who he is.”

Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, said in a statement: “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

Yet despite the backlash offering a boost to vice president Kamala Harris’s bid for the presidency – what with Puerto Rican musicians Ricky Martin and Bad Bunny expressing their support for the vice president while criticising Hinchcliffe’s comments – the Democrats were soon faced with their own controversy when Biden attempted to use the remarks to attack the Trump campaign.

After describing Puerto Ricans in his home state of Delaware as “good, decent, honourable people”, the president told those attending the virtual Voto Latino call that “the only garbage I see floating out there” is “his [Trump’s] supporters”.

“His demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American,” he added.

Trump soon seized the opportunity to call out Biden’s “terrible” remarks, writing on Twitter/X: “You can’t lead America if you don’t love the American People. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have shown they are both unfit to be President of the United States.”

The former Apprentice star – whose unsubstantiated comments in the presidential debate about Haitian migrants in Ohio eating dogs and cats sparked condemnation and ridicule - continued to say his campaign is “welcoming historic numbers of Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and citizens of every race, religion, color and creed”.

“It is my desire to be the President of all the people,” he said.

During his rally in Pennsylvania, Trump reminded supporters of comments made by ex-election rival Hilary Clinton in 2016, when she said “half” of the Republican’s backers could be grouped in “the basket of deplorables”.

The politician, who once called the entirety of America a “garbage can”, said: “That didn’t work out. ‘Garbage’, I think, is worse, right?”

Vice presidential candidate JD Vance and Trump backer Elon Musk are among those who have criticised Biden for the dig:

Meanwhile, critics of the former Potus have mocked such a reaction from his supporters:

The White House has insisted Biden’s comments were misconstrued and taken out of context, with spokesperson Andrew Bates saying in a statement that the president “referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as garbage”, rather than Trump’s supporters.

Biden also clarified his previous remarks with a tweet on Tuesday evening, in which he wrote: “Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage – which is the only word I can think of to describe it.

“His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say.

“The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.”

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.