WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden slapped him back Donald Trump’s Supporters reacted to the Republican presidential candidate’s words weekend rally In Madison Square Garden, which was overshadowed by vulgar and racist rhetoric.

In a call held Tuesday by the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino, Biden responded to a comedian at Trump’s rally who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Biden’s initial comments were distorted.

“A speaker at his rally the other day described Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage. Let me tell you something, I don’t know any Puerto Ricans that I know, I don’t know any Puerto Ricans that I’m from in my home state of Delaware. “They are good, honest and honorable people,” he said.

The president later added: “The only garbage I see floating around is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and un-American. “It’s completely contrary to everything we do, everything we do.”

White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden “called the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally ‘garbage.'”

Biden later took to social media to personally explain what he said.

“Earlier today, I called Trump supporter’s hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico at the Madison Square Garden rally trash — that’s the only word I can think of to describe it,” he wrote on X. illogical. That’s all I wanted to say. “The comments at that rally do not reflect who we are as a nation.”

But Biden’s tone when referring to Trump supporters as “trash” was at odds with the message Democratic candidate Kamala Harris intended to appeal to a broad audience, including disaffected Republicans. Shortly after Biden’s remarks, Harris spoke from the Ellipse in Washington and promised to be a president who would unite the country.

Biden’s vice president, Harris, said, “I promise to be the president of all Americans.”

Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, said Biden’s words did not detract from the campaign’s message of unity.

Walz said Wednesday on “CBS Mornings” that the president “has been very clear that he’s talking about the rhetoric that we’re hearing, so it doesn’t undermine him.” Walz added on ABC’s “Good Morning America” ​​that he and Harris “made it absolutely clear that we want everyone to be a part of this.” What needs to end is Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric.”

Republicans were quick to highlight Biden’s remarks. Trump called the Florida Senator. Marco Rubio To describe what happened during his rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

“A few minutes ago, Joe Biden said that our supporters, our patriots, are trash,” Rubio said. “It talks about ordinary Americans who love their country.”

“There’s no turning this around: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris not only hate President Trump, they despise the tens of millions of Americans who support him,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement later.

The Trump campaign fundraising text included: “KAMALA’S BOSS JOE BIDEN CALLED ALL MY SUPPORTERS TRASH!” The recipients heard Trump himself say, “YOU ARE GREAT!” before making him think.

Even some prominent Democrats have begun to distance themselves from Biden’s comments. Governor of Pennsylvania speaking on CNN. Josh Shapiro He said he would “never insult the good people of Pennsylvania or any American, even if they chose to support a candidate I do not support.”

The comments reminded then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton dismissal Embers During a fundraiser in New York in 2016, supporters said half of the ” deplorable basket.”

Clinton later called this characterization “extremely generalist.” But it became a defiant rally cry for many Trump supporters, who said the insult epitomized the elitist attitudes of Clinton and the Democrats.

Meanwhile, as reactions to Biden’s response began to fly, Trump was asked about the racist and vulgar joke at his New York rally during an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity on Tuesday night. He replied: “Someone said there was a comedian who made jokes about Puerto Rico. And I have no idea who that is.”

The former president added: “I can’t imagine it being a big deal.”

At a rally Tuesday in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which has a large Hispanic population, Trump repeated his claim that Biden’s immigration policies allow other countries to treat the United States like a “giant garbage can.”

With only a week left until Election Day, Biden maintain relevanceAs Harris runs against Trump, she angrily touts her administration’s accomplishments.

But his efforts to stay in the political spotlight may not always be so beneficial to the top of the Democratic ticket, which he now supports. That’s because although Harris has been harshly critical of Trump for months, she has repeatedly called him “unstable” and “unhinged” and even called him “” fascistHe was careful not to condemn his supporters.

In fact, the vice president campaigned heavily with former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and other former GOP elected officials hoped to attract conservative crossover voters. The Democrats’ convention and Harris ads highlighted stories of ordinary Americans who said they voted for Trump in the past but now support the vice president.

During Tuesday’s call, Biden also said Trump “doesn’t care about the Latino community” and called for the former president to be rejected, even as Trump’s campaign said his support was growing among Hispanics, especially men.

“Vote to keep Donald Trump out of the White House,” Biden said. “He is a real danger not just to Latinos, but to all people. Especially those who are a minority in this country.”