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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's attempt to call out racist remarks by a speaker at a campaign rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump backfired when Trump and other Republicans accused him of calling their supporters "garbage."
Biden was responding on Tuesday to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage" at the rally on Sunday and also disparaged Black Americans, Jewish people, Palestinians and Latinos.
Trump's campaign distanced itself from the Puerto Rico comment at the event where other Trump allies also made vulgar and racist remarks. Trump himself, who has made a series of inflammatory and racist statements on the campaign trail, on Tuesday called his rally "an absolute lovefest."
Speaking on Tuesday during a fundraising Zoom call with Voto Latino, an organization that encourages young Latino Americans to register to vote, Biden said, "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter's - his - his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and it's un-American," according to a transcript posted on X by a White House spokesperson.
The White House transcript included an apostrophe, suggesting the president was referring to one supporter, Hinchcliffe. It was unclear from the sound of the video clip of the call whether Biden meant the plural "supporters" as both words sound exactly the same.
Biden sought to clarify his remark soon after it became public.
"Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporters at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage — which is the only word I can think of to describe it," Biden posted on X late on Tuesday.
"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."
On Wednesday, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris vowed to serve "all Americans" if elected president when asked about the remark by Biden, her boss, which distracted from her own rally on Tuesday night and threatened to undercut her message of unity less than a week before the Nov. 5 election.
Republican and Democratic leaders, celebrities and voters have been sharply critical of Hinchcliffe. Biden's use of the word garbage also sparked anger.
Video clips of Biden's remarks circulated on X, formerly Twitter, which is owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. "BREAKING: Biden refers to millions of President Trump's supporters as "garbage," Trump War Room claimed on X.
Trump weighed in too. In North Carolina on Wednesday, Trump told a crowd Biden’s comment revealed his disdain for Trump backers.
"Joe Biden finally said what he and Kamala really think of our supporters. He called them 'garbage.' And they mean it," Trump said. "You can't lead America if you don't love Americans, and you can't be president if you hate the American people.
At Sunday's rally, Trump spoke repeatedly about his plans to halt illegal immigration and deport migrants he described as "vicious and bloodthirsty criminals" if he wins the election.
Trump trails Harris by a single percentage point, 43% to 44%, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.
(Reporting by John Geddie and Jeff Mason; Editing by Heather Timmons and Howard Goller)
