President Joe Biden faced criticism from Republicans for comments he made on his Voto Latino campaign call Tuesday night; His phrasing appeared to refer to former President Donald Trump’s supporters as “trash.”

“At his rally the other day, a speaker called Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage,'” Biden said, according to a video clip on CNN.

After calling Puerto Ricans “good, decent, honorable people,” he added: “The only garbage I see floating around is his supporters.”

His comment was followed by: “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and un-American. It is completely contrary to everything we do and have done.”

Republicans were quick to criticize the comment, comparing it to Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment in 2016.

Senator Marco Rubio broke the news to Trump onstage while campaigning in Allentown, Philadelphia.

Trump responded: “Remember, Hilary said ‘deplorable.'”

“That didn’t work,” he continued. “I think ‘garbage’ is worse, right?”

Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris hate America and do not deserve four more years. Kamala must be held accountable for this shameful attack on tens of millions of Americans.”

The new controversy emerged a week before the election and on the night Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her closing campaign message on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C.

“The President called the hate speech at the Madison Square Garden rally ‘garbage,'” a White House spokesman said in a statement. he said.

The transcript of remarks provided to ABC News by the White House includes an apostrophe at the end of the word “supporter,” but in the video of Biden’s remarks it is unclear whether the president meant the word in a possessive sense.

A spokesperson for Harris’ campaign told ABC News, referring to the White House’s official statement.

Biden soon responded with a post about

-ABC News’ Justin R. Gomez