US Presidential Election 2024: Did Biden offer the presidency to Trump on a golden platter? – BBC News Arabic

Biden made this comment in a speech to Latino voters, in response to rhetoric that was considered inappropriate from some Trump supporters against the residents of Puerto Rico One of the speakers said at election rally in New York about the island that “it is. floating island of trash.” Biden responded by saying: “The same trash that “sees them floating around, they are Trump supporters.”

The White House later issued a statement saying the president was referring to the words of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, not the tens of millions of Trump supporters.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden “does not view Trump supporters or anyone who supports Trump as trash.” “

Biden himself also spoke about his video call with the non-profit group Voto Latino, and wrote on his account on the “X” platform: “Earlier, I mentioned the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico made a Trump supporter at his campaign rally. in Madison Square Garden like trash.” “That’s the only word I can think of to describe it.”

He went on to say, “It’s impossible to demonize Latinos. That’s all I wanted to say. The comments I made at that rally don’t reflect our true- recognition as a nation.”

However, observers believed the damage had already been done, recalling a similar incident in 2016 when Hillary Clinton, the former Democratic candidate, reported half of her supporters. Trump as “miserable”, which caused his electoral base to rally against her.

When asked about Biden’s statements before she flew from Washington, D.C., to campaign in swing states, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris pointed out that Biden had already tried to “clarify his views.”

“But let me be clear,” she said, “I strongly disagree with any criticism aimed at people based on who they vote for.”

In response to a question from the BBC, she said that if she wins the elections to be held next Tuesday, she will be “president for all Americans, including those who will not vote for me.” “

Harris tried to focus on his rival Trump, saying that American voters will decide whether they want to “try to unite the country and break this divisive era.”

The controversy over Biden’s comments came to a head in an unwanted inconvenience for the Harris campaign as she delivered her final speech to voters in Washington, DC.

From which Trump spoke shortly before his supporters rioted in the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, she urged Americans to “turn the page on the conflict” in American politics.

The Trump campaign recognized the importance of these statements, and tried to use them to their advantage by portraying the Democrats as insulting the president’s supporters. there before.

Trump used Biden’s statement to reinforce his message that Democratic elites are pandering to the American people and treating working-class and conservative Americans with disdain, who see Trump as a voice for their values ​​and the rights.

“Joe Biden finally said what he and Kamala think about our supporters,” Trump said “He called them trash, and they mean it.” “

At an event in Pennsylvania, Trump reminded his supporters of Hillary Clinton’s statement in 2016, saying: “Do you remember when Hillary called you pathetic? Now Biden is calling you trash.

Trump said Biden’s words were “worse” than what Clinton said.

He later flew to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he got into a garbage truck with a Trump campaign sticker on the side.

Trump asked reporters: “Do you like my garbage truck? Biden should be ashamed of himself.”

Anne Dressen was waiting in line for the rally in Green Bay, carrying a black trash bag referring to Biden’s comment.

She told the BBC: “We’re used to this from the other side. They called him Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini. Why don’t they call him Satan? They put us all in the same group too.”

On the other hand, Harris supporters who attended her rally in Madison, Wisconsin, told the BBC they were still upset by the Puerto Rican joke made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe .

“As a Latina, it’s shameful, and it’s shameful that people would think that about people like me,” said Mallory Malwitz.

Malwitz said she doesn’t think those with opposing views are “garbage,” adding that some of her family members are Trump supporters.

During his election campaign, Trump himself was criticized for describing the United States as “the scum of the world” and describing political opponents as the “enemy within”.

Trump said of Kamala Harris that she runs a “campaign of hate.”

Trump has defended the Madison Square Garden rally that Biden referred to, when Hinchcliffe and others took offense with several comments, as a “love fest.”

He admitted that “someone was saying bad things,” but said he didn’t think it was a big deal.

Trump did not apologize, as requested by famous people from the island itself, which is an area connected to the United States. Several Republicans, including from neighborhoods with large Latino populations, expressed their anger.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a key swing state in the presidential election, members of the 90,000 Puerto Rican population told the BBC that they will never forget this joke.

Residents of Puerto Rico – the US island in the Caribbean – are not eligible to vote in presidential elections, but the larger community in the United States can.

Mr. Biden’s comments came at a difficult time, as voters prepare to go to the polls in elections seeing close polls.

The Harris campaign is hoping to attract Republican votes who are dissatisfied with Trump’s policies, but she now has a challenge in convincing those who are hesitant to vote for her after this controversy.

Some believe the statement could hurt Harris’ campaign, as voters wonder whether the Democratic Party respects everyone or despises those who don’t. agree with him politically.

On the other hand, some Democrats see Biden’s statements as just a passing gaffe, but the pro-Trump media had a different opinion, trying to add to the issue and to portray the Democrats as out of touch with the concerns of the average citizen.

Trump’s supporters believe that these Biden gaffes, repeated several times, show a contradiction in the rhetoric of the Democrats, who want unity and tolerance, but at the same time use phrases that are interpreted as insulting to others.

In an attempt to reorient election messages, the Harris campaign is now trying to focus on its unification rhetoric, based on previous statements by former President Barack Obama, who warned him the Democrats not showing disdain for voters just because they differ in their views. Obama also pointed out the danger of polarizing rhetoric that leads to voter hostility and a decline in confidence in the democratic system, asking to respect all opinions and work to overcome divisions.

The Harris campaign hopes to overcome the impact of this misstep by emphasizing its rhetoric of unity and the importance of working for all, but the time is in which the idea makes the work difficult.