Harris, a 55-year-old US senator from California, was chosen by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as his running mate on Tuesday, making history as the first Black woman and Asian-American on a major presidential ticket.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Washington: Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has distanced herself from a controversial comment made by her boss President Joe Biden, in which he referred to supporters of her Republican rival Donald Trump as 'garbage'.
“I think that, first of all, he clarified his comments. But let me be clear: I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for. You heard my speech last night and continuously throughout my career,” Vice President Harris told reporters Wednesday.
“I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not. As president of the United States, I will be a president for all Americans, whether you vote for me or not,” she said, responding to a question on Biden's comment comparing Trump supporters to garbage.
Biden was commenting on a racist joke a comedian made at a Trump rally days earlier, likening Puerto Rico to an “island of garbage.” “The only garbage I see floating out there is his (Trump's) supporters, his demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable and it's un-American. It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been,” Biden said in his remarks on a campaign call for Latino voters on Tuesday.
“Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a 'floating island of garbage'. Well, let me tell you something. I don't know the Puerto Rican that I know -- or a Puerto Rico, where I'm fr- -- in my home state of Delaware, they're good, decent, honourable people,” he said.
Trump, the former president, was quick to denounce the comment.
The Republican Party presidential candidate, who was holding a rally in Allentown, described Biden’s remarks as “terrible” and likened them to Hillary Clinton's comments calling some of Trump's supporters "deplorables" in 2016. “So, you have to remember Hillary [Clinton]–she said ‘deplorable’ and then she said ‘irredeemable’," Trump said. "‘Garbage’ I think is worse,” he added.
In a damage control exercise, Biden later tried to explain his remarks on X. “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," Biden wrote.
"His demonisation 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,” Biden said.
However, Trump went ahead to make political capital out of it as he had a photo-op with a garbage truck on Wednesday in Wisconsin. "How do you like my garbage truck? This truck is in honour of Kamala and Joe Biden," he told reporters.