On Tuesday, President Biden labeled Donald Trump’s supporters as “garbage” while condemning a joke by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe during Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden.
The president made the remark as he criticized Hinchcliffe for reportedly referring to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”
“Donald Trump has no character. He doesn’t give a damn about the Latino community,” Biden said during a White House campaign call reported by NBC. “Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage.”
Biden continued, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
Trump responded at his own rally in Allentown, Pa., that Biden’s comment was even harsher than Hillary Clinton’s infamous “deplorables” remark.
Biden, 81, emphasized in his Tuesday call that Puerto Ricans are “good, decent, honorable people.”
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates clarified afterward that “The president referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’”
* The NY Post contributed to this article.