Mr. Trump sat in a garbage truck with his name printed on it while campaigning in Wisconsin, after President Biden referred to supporters of the Republican candidate as ‘garbage.’
Upon landing at Green Bay airport in Wisconsin on October 30, former President Donald Trump exited his Boeing 757, walked across the tarmac, and climbed into the passenger seat of a white garbage truck also bearing his name.
‘What do you think of my garbage truck? This truck is a tribute to Kamala Harris and Joe Biden,’ Trump said, donning a reflective safety vest meant for sanitation workers, as he arrived in the battleground state of Wisconsin in a final effort to attract voters ahead of Election Day.
Hm, interesting choice to place the garbage in the front of the truck.pic.twitter.com/CdQzp4fycZ
— Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) October 30, 2024
Although official campaign activities have wrapped up, both Trump and Harris are making the most of the final days before the election by campaigning in battleground states, as any misstep from either could provide a significant advantage to the other.
Trump’s act of sitting in a garbage truck, as a former reality TV star, aimed to draw public attention to President Biden’s comments a day earlier targeting supporters of the Republican candidate, amid criticism of his campaign due to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s ‘slip of the tongue.’
One man's garbage is another man's MAGA. pic.twitter.com/HaSCl2nHKv
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) October 30, 2024
When invited to speak at Trump’s campaign rally in New York on October 27, Hinchcliffe made racially insensitive jokes, describing Puerto Rico as ‘a garbage-filled island floating in the ocean.’
This remark faced a strong backlash from the American public, including President Biden, who spoke via Zoom with Voto Latino, a group advocating for Latinx voters, on the evening of October 29.
‘The only garbage floating out there is Trump supporters,’ Biden said, seemingly off-script. ‘Disrespecting Latin people is beyond the pale and not in the American spirit.’
Biden quickly took to social media to clarify his remarks. ‘His denigration of Latinx people is immoral; that’s all I wanted to say,’ the President explained.
Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage—which is the only word I can think of to describe it. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That's all I meant to say. The…
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 30, 2024
However, Trump’s campaign swiftly seized on Biden’s comments to attack both the President and his Vice President, Harris. They argued that this statement showed that Biden and Harris look down on Republican supporters.
For his part, sitting in the garbage truck, Trump claimed he had no obligation to apologize to the people of Puerto Rico after Hinchcliffe’s remarks.
“Ignore The Democrat And Media Outrage. Trump Has Done More For Puerto Rico Than Any Other President” https://t.co/j4rEAEjfVa
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2024
‘I don’t know who that comedian is, and I’ve never met him. I love Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico loves me,’ he told reporters.
‘I hope you all like this garbage truck. Thank you very much,’ Trump said, wrapping up the brief interaction with reporters before stepping onto the campaign stage, still wearing his bright orange reflective safety vest.
According to the Capitoneshirt