President Biden's garbage comment was 'last thing he should have done', veteran GOP media strategist claims

It comes after Trump distanced himself from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe who triggered this week's political firestorm by saying Puerto Rico is "a floating island of garbage."

A few days later, during a fundraising Zoom call with a Latino voters' group, Biden was initially quoted as saying: "The only garbage I see floating out there is his [Trump's] supporters."

Earlier today, the Republican former President donned an orange reflective safety vest and climbed into the passenger seat of a garbage truck in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to call attention to the comment. Now, Goodman has drawn parallels to the "deplorables" comment made by Hillary Clinton in the run-up to her unsuccessful bid to be President in 2016.

He told GB News: "This was a major gaffe. Of all the things that Joe Biden shouldn't have done, he shouldn't have inserted himself in the last furlong of the race in a way where time alone won't be enough to turn it around and mitigate the damage.

"And I think the garbage comment has history, I remember when Hillary Clinton, running for President, used the word 'deplorables' to describe everyone that could possibly not be with her in the presidential campaign that blew up on her.

"I think, in a way, it's not an inauthentic comment coming from the President. I think a lot of people believe he feels that's really from his heart. He really believes that if you're not for Kamala, somehow something's wrong with you."

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Goodman, who hosts the 13th and Park podcast, added that Biden's comment about Trump supporters being "garbage" plays well to Republican supporters.

He added: "[Biden saying] that something is off with you because you make a choice that's not the choice of what I would call the intellectual elite. That is a wonderful weapon for any candidate, much less Donald Trump, in a more populist stance to wield going into the final days of the election.

"He's already done that in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The crowds went wild. I think that is an unfortunate gaffe that just may be one of those final decision-makers for voters at the end of the line."

The race has tightened in its final weeks, and a Tuesday Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Harris leading Trump by just 44 per cent to 43 per cent among registered voters nationally, well within the poll's margin of error. Other opinion polls show tight margins in the seven battleground states that will decide the November 5 election.

Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are courting Hispanic voters trips to Nevada, the smallest of the seven swing states expected to play a decisive role in next week's election.

Hispanics represent about 30 per cent of Nevada's population and Hispanic voters have traditionally been an area of strength for Democrats. Former President Trump, however, has been gaining ground in the nationally and religiously diverse US Latino population.

Nationally, Trump had the support of 38 per cent of registered Hispanic voters in a series of polls conducted this month, up from 32 per cent at the same point in 2020. Vice President Harris' share of Hispanic voters was at 50 per cent, compared with Democratic President Joe Biden's 54 per cent in October 2020.

Singer Jennifer Lopez will speak at a Harris rally in Las Vegas where Mexican pop rock band Mana will perform, while Trump will hold a rally to the southeast of the city in Henderson, which has a population of more than 330,000 people.