Former President Donald Trump accused Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday of running a “campaign of hate,” seizing on President Biden’s claim that his supporters were “garbage.”
Mr. Trump said in an X post that he wants to be the president “of all people.”
“While I am running a campaign of positive solutions to save America, Kamala Harris is running a campaign of hate,” Mr. Trump wrote. “She has spent all week comparing her political opponents to the most evil mass murderers in history. Now, on top of everything, Joe Biden calls our supporters “garbage.” You can’t lead America if you don’t love the American People.”
Mr. Biden late Tuesday responded to a comedian at Mr. Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally who joked that Puerto Rico was a floating island of garbage. Mr. Biden said: “The only garbage I see floating out there is [Trump] supporters.”
Mr. Biden’s comment drew comparisons to 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton calling Trump supporters a ”basket of deplorables.”
“I am proud to lead the biggest, broadest, and most important political coalition in American history,” Mr. Trump said. “We are welcoming historic numbers of Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and citizens of every race, religion, color, and creed.”
SEE ALSO: Harris tries to stand apart from Biden’s ‘garbage’ shot
He put the focus on Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris as his Democratic rivals tried to stir outrage over the Puerto Rico joke to their advantage. Roughly half a million Puerto Ricans live in Pennsylvania, a vital swing state.
Mr. Trump has distanced himself from the jokes.
“Somebody said some bad things. Now, what they’ve done is taken somebody that has nothing to do with the party, has nothing to do with us, [who] said something, and they try to make a big deal,” Mr. Trump told Sean Hannity on Fox News. “I can’t imagine it’s a big deal.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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