RALEIGH, N.C. — Kamala Harris said Wednesday that she doesn’t want to “criticize people based on who they vote for” after President Joe Biden referred to President Donald Trump’s supporters and “trash.” I do not agree.” Unity.
“I represent all Americans, even those who don’t vote for me,” she said.
Democratic presidential candidate Harris told reporters as she prepared to campaign in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as part of a multi-day battleground state blitz in the final week before Election Day. I made a comment. Her words were an attempt to blunt the controversy surrounding Biden’s rhetoric and put some distance between her and the president, something she has struggled with in the past.
The unrest began Tuesday night, when Harris delivered a message of unity in a speech near the White House. It’s the culmination of what Harris’ team calls the campaign’s “closing argument.” Inside the building, Biden criticized a comedian who described Puerto Rico as a “floating island of trash” during Trump’s recent Madison Square Garden rally.
“The only trash floating around is his supporters. It’s unconscionable and un-American for Mr. Biden to demonize Latinos,” said the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino. ” Biden said at a campaign event hosted by . “It goes completely against everything we’ve done and everything we’ve ever done.”
Mr. Biden and the White House rushed to explain that the president was not talking about his onstage rhetoric, but rather Mr. Trump’s supporters themselves. But Republicans have seized on Biden’s comments, an echo of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Democratic challenger to Trump when she said half of Trump’s supporters belonged to a “deplorable group.” he claimed.
As Republicans attack Biden and, by extension, Harris, President Trump’s own history of insulting and demonizing rhetoric has included calling the United States the “trash of the world” and describing political opponents as “enemies within.” exaggerated. President Trump has also described Harris as “stupid” and “extremely lazy” and questioned whether she was using drugs.
Trump also rejected demands for an apology for his comments about Puerto Rico at the rally, acknowledging that “someone said something terrible,” but adding, “I can’t imagine it being a big deal.”
Political attack lines have a history of sometimes boomeranging back to those who use them. For example, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who is currently President Trump’s running mate, once said that Democrats are benefiting from “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable with their lives and their choices.” He said that he has received.
Vance’s comments from three years ago resurfaced when he became the vice presidential nominee, energizing Harris supporters, just as Trump supporters once cheerfully labeled themselves “deplorables.” , repurposed the label as pride of place on shirts and bumper stickers.
On Wednesday morning, Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, downplayed Biden’s comments in a television interview.
“Let me be clear: the vice president and I have made it very clear that we want everyone to be a part of this,” he said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “Donald Trump’s divisive comments must end.”
At Harris’ first rally of the day in Raleigh, Liz Casale, 35, said she was “cautiously optimistic” about the election.
She has volunteered for the campaign each week, making phone calls, knocking on doors with her young daughter and raising money for Harris’ candidacy.
“Hope for the best and plan for the worst,” Casal said. ___ Megerian reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Makiya Seminella in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Adriana Gomez Ricon in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, contributed to this report.
First published: October 30, 2024 12:26 PM CDT
