Walz denies that Biden’s ‘garbage’ comments undermine Harris’ unity message

Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., denied that President Biden’s recent comments calling Trump supporters “garbage” undermine the Harris campaign’s message of “unity.”

CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil confronted Walz on Biden’s Tuesday evening remarks during a Wednesday morning interview, asking Vice President Harris’ running mate whether the “garbage” line – combined with the history of other prominent Democrats ridiculing conservative voters – conflict with Harris’ appeal for unity as election day nears.

“No, certainly not,” Walz replied, elsewhere denying that Biden was speaking about Trump supporters at large, and alleging the president was only referring to the comedian who made an off-color joke about Puerto Rico during former President Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally Sunday night.

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Biden got himself and the Harris campaign into hot water on Tuesday night when, in retaliation for roast comic Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke about the U.S. territory being a “floating island of garbage,” the president appeared to call Trump supporters “garbage.”

“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden said. “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and it is un-American,” he declared during a virtual call with Latino voters for the Harris campaign.

The White House insisted that Biden had said, “Trump supporter’s” rather than “Trump supporters,” though Dokoupil presented it as the latter when confronting Walz about it.

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The news anchor pressed Walz: “I want to get your reaction to the president’s comments, but I want to put in a larger context of your recent comment comparing the Sunday Trump rally to a Nazi rally, and I also would also throw in there Obama’s bitter clingers, guns and religion comment from a while back, the deplorable line from Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and the way that Democrats are seen by some voters as disrespecting them.”

After setting up the context, he asked, “Does that undercut this closing message of unity from your campaign?”

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Walz denied that it takes away from their positive, uplifting campaign theme and went on to say that he has “represented rural areas. I’ve represented Democrats, Republicans, Independents – same thing with the vice president.”

He continued, insisting that Harris’ speech in Washington, D.C. Tuesday represents “the best of America, one that’s talking about unifying us, one that’s talking about bringing folks to the table, one that – the American tradition of disagreeing and debating but still doing so in a respectable manner.”

Walz then insisted that Biden was not referring to all Trump supporters as “garbage” but just Hinchcliffe for using divisive rhetoric on behalf of Trump. 

“I think President Biden was very clear that he’s speaking about the rhetoric we heard, so it doesn’t undermine it,” he added.