Sen. J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate, referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘trash’ during a speech on the eve of Election Day.
‘The citizens of this country are not garbage for wanting to be able to afford groceries and a nice place to live. But in two days we are gonna take out the trash in Washington D.C., and the trash’s name is Kamala Harris,’ Vance declared.
In a post on X, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., opined, ‘Not too sure that Republicans going from calling Puerto Ricans garbage to calling a woman garbage is the whiz-bang political chess move they think it is.’
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe faced criticism after cracking a joke in which he referred to Puerto Rico as ‘a floating island of garbage.’ He made the joke while speaking at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden.
President Joe Biden later sparked controversy when he said, ‘The only garbage I see floatin’ out there is his supporters.’
Biden has suggested that he was characterizing Hinchcliffe’s comments as garbage.
‘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 said in a post on X. ‘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.’
Harris said that Biden had ‘clarified his comments,’ and that she opposes ‘any criticism of people based on who they vote for.’
Vance has served in the Senate since 2023.