Kamala Harris: ‘Strongly Disagree’ With ‘Any Criticism’ Based on Who Someone Votes For

Comments come after Joe Biden’s ‘garbage’ gaffe about the racist jokes at a recent Trump rally

Kamala Harris speaks on The Ellipse just south of the White House in Washington D.C. on Oct. 29, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

In response to the uproar over President Joe Biden’s “garbage” gaffe, Kamala Harris on Wednesday morning noted that Biden “clarified” what the remark meant while also reiterating her campaign pitch that she’ll be “president for all Americans,” regardless of who they vote for.

You can read Harris’ full comment below, which she made at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland:

“First of all, he clarified his comments. But let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” Harris said. “You heard my speech last night and continuously through my career, I believe that the work I do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not.”

She continued: “And as president, I’ll be a president for all Americans, whether you vote for me or not. That is my responsibility and that’s the kind of work that I’ve done my entire career, and I take it very seriously.”

And here’s the video of it, from Harris’ “Kamala HQ” X account:

Harris’ statement comes after the president stumbled into controversy Wednesday night while addressing comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke about Puerto Rico at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally last weekend.

The “only garbage I see floating out there” is “his supporters,” Biden said, stumbling over his words before referring to “his demonization of Latinos.”

Here’s the joke Hinchcliffe made: “I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah, I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

Hinchcliffe also joked about Latinos making babies and deploying a pun connecting that to illegal immigration, made a watermelon joke directed at a Black attendee, and made jokes deploying certain stereotypes about Jewish people.

Here’s President Biden’s full comment, via Axios:

“And just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Well, let me tell you something. I don’t — I — I don’t know the Puerto Rican that — that I know — or a Puerto Rico where I’m fre- — in my home state of Delaware, they’re good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”

The Trump campaign, Axios reporter Alex Thompson noted, used the comment immediately, sending out an email saying: “You are not garbage! I love you! you are the best our nation has to offer.”

On Tuesday night, The White House tried to walk back the president’s comment, saying he meant “supporter’s” as in Hinchcliffe, rather than “supporters.” (The possessive apostrophe, which was included in the official White House transcript, implies that Biden was referring to Hinchcliffe’s joke, not all Trump supporters.)

“The President referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage,’” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement to CBS News.

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