Biden’s “garbage” comment under fire from some Democrats

On By Littum

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WASHINGTON — A pair of congressional Democrats running in close races in 2024 became the latest members of President Joe Biden’s party on Wednesday to criticize his “garbage” remark about Donald Trump’s supporters.

Elissa Slotkin, the Democratic Senate candidate running in Michigan, and Rep. Jared Golden, who is running for a fourth term in Maine, both took issue with the comments made by the sitting president of the United States.

“As for what President Biden said yesterday, he shouldn’t have said it. I think it’s inappropriate. And to me, I just think that kind of talk is the last thing we need in our politics,” Slotkin said WWJ News Radioa local Michigan radio station.

Slotkin argued that most Michiganders want Democrats and Republicans to debate their issues “in a civil and reasonable manner and not, you know, get into name-calling.”

“So I just didn’t like it, I thought it was unnecessary, but that’s why I think we’re all ready for this election to be over,” she added.

Writing on X, Golden too caused concern with Biden’s comments. “Any elected official or candidate who calls Americans or America ‘garbage’ is dead wrong. We don’t need leaders to add fuel to the partisan fires that divide us.”

“Americans are bound together as citizens of our great country,” Golden added in a follow-up tweet. “What we need most is to work together towards common goals and to overcome common challenges for the benefit of our society and country.”

Golden represents a large rural district that encompasses central and northern Maine. His run against Republican challenger Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver, is considered according to Cook Political Report.

Slotkin, a three-term U.S. congresswoman, is running against Republican Mike Rogers for a Senate seat left open by outgoing Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Numerous polls show Slotkin leading Rogers by a few percentage points.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro have also tried to distance themselves from Biden’s remarks with just days to go before Election Day on November 5.

Biden’s comments came after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe said Puerto Rico was a “floating island of garbage” during Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday in New York. During a Zoom call with a nonprofit organization, the president said that the only “garbage” he saw “floating out there” was “of his supporters,” though it was not clear at the time whether he was referring to Hinchcliffe or all of Trump’s supporters. Many Republicans interpreted it as the latter.

Biden later published on X, formerly Twitter, that he “referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump supporters at his Madison Square Garden rally as trash.”

Shapiro told CNN Tuesday night that he “would never offend the good people of Pennsylvania or any American, even if they chose to support a candidate that I did not support.” Harris said Wednesday that while the president clarified his remarks, she strongly disagrees with criticizing someone “based on who they vote for.”

Starring: Rebecca Morin and Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY