Harris Calls for Unity, Seeks to Distance Herself from Biden’s Controversial Remarks
Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday urged Americans to “stop pointing fingers at each other” as she campaigned in battleground states, attempting to move past President Joe Biden’s controversial remarks about Donald Trump supporters, The Associated Press reports.
Harris, who held rallies in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, emphasized unity and common ground in her speeches, expanding on her “closing argument” delivered in Washington D.C. the previous day.
“We know we have an opportunity in this election to turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump, who has been trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other,” Harris said. “I am not looking to score political points, I am looking to make progress.”
The controversy surrounding Biden’s remarks began on Tuesday when he participated in a campaign call organized by Voto Latino. Biden used the opportunity to criticize a comedian’s description of Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” at a recent Trump rally. He stated that the “only garbage” he sees “floating out there” is Trump’s supporters.
The White House quickly attempted to clarify the president’s comment, stating that Biden was referring to rhetoric from Trump’s allies, not his supporters themselves.
Harris, speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force Two, distanced herself from Biden’s comments, stating that she disagrees “with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.” Her words were an attempt to quell the controversy and establish some distance between herself and the president, a task she has previously struggled with.
Republicans, however, seized on Biden’s comments, claiming they were reminiscent of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 statement labeling half of Trump’s supporters as belonging in a “basket of deplorables.”
