President Joe Biden faced backlash from Republicans after weighing in on racist jokes made at Donald Trump’s rally by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who made offensive remarks about Puerto Ricans, Latinos, and Black people. During a video call for Latino voter outreach, Biden defended the Puerto Rican community and criticized either Trump supporters or Hinchcliffe for their hateful rhetoric. The White House clarified that Biden was referring to the comedian’s remarks as garbage and not calling Trump supporters garbage. Despite attempts to clarify his statement, the controversy overshadowed Vice President Kamala Harris’s closing argument speech. Republicans used Biden’s remarks to undermine the message of unity that Harris was trying to convey. Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita and Sen. JD Vance criticized Biden, while Sen. Marco Rubio shared Biden’s comment with Trump during his rally. Trump compared Biden’s remark to Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment from 2016. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro distanced himself from Biden’s comment, emphasizing the need to remain focused on the contrast between Harris and Trump. Biden’s remark signaled a disturbing turn in the rhetoric of the election campaign, with Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis noting that both campaigns were approaching a “sprint to the bottom.” The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Biden’s remarks.
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