November 1, 2024
Multiple campaign calls scheduled with President Joe Biden on Thursday were abruptly canceled, according to reports from Fox News, as fallout from his controversial remarks earlier this week about Trump supporters continues to grow. Biden’s comments, made during a virtual call with Voto Latino, sparked swift criticism, leading to questions about the White House’s handling of his statements.
Organizations set to participate in these scheduled calls did not respond to inquiries about whether the Zoom calls went forward without Biden. Sources close to the White House confirmed that none of the canceled calls were directly associated with the Harris-Walz campaign. Notably, Biden has not announced any official campaign events leading up to the election, and the “garbage” comment has only added pressure on the administration.
In the now-infamous Voto Latino call, Biden responded to a question about a recent Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, where comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made a disparaging joke about Puerto Rico, calling it a “floating island of garbage.” Biden took the opportunity to criticize both Trump and Hinchcliffe’s remarks.
“Donald Trump has no character. He doesn’t give a damn about the Latino community,” Biden said during the call, characterizing Trump as someone who “only cares about the billionaire friends that he has and accumulating wealth for those at the top.” Referring to Hinchcliffe’s joke, Biden continued, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters—his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
The White House quickly tried to defuse the fallout from Biden’s choice of words. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clarified on Wednesday that Biden’s comment referred specifically to Hinchcliffe’s joke, not Trump supporters as a whole. “He does not view Trump supporters or anybody who supports Trump as garbage. That is not what he views,” Jean-Pierre stated.
The clarification has done little to quell backlash, as Biden’s remarks come at a particularly heated moment in the lead-up to the election. Following his comments, prominent Republican figures and conservative media personalities called out Biden for what they saw as an attack on millions of Americans who support Trump.
Though Biden has a long history of denouncing extremist language in political discourse, his recent remarks seem to have fueled accusations of divisiveness, with critics asserting that his rhetoric has crossed a line. Observers have noted that this incident mirrors previous controversies in recent elections, including Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment in 2016.
With the canceled calls and increasing pressure, Biden’s team is now focused on damage control. Fox News has reached out to the White House for additional comments, though no further clarification has been given regarding Biden’s availability or whether he will address the remarks directly.
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