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US Election Live Blog: Joe Biden calls Trump supporters ‘garbage’

US President Joe Biden has disastrously undermined Kamala Harris’s campaign for election by appearing to call Donald Trump’s supporters “garbage”. Follow updates.

"Garbage" - Joe Biden hits out at Trump supporters

US President Joe Biden has disastrously undermined Kamala Harris’s campaign for election by appearing to call Donald Trump’s supporters “garbage”, less than a week out from polling day.

Speaking during a fundraising call, Mr Biden made the remark in a jumbled bid to ram home an attack on Mr Trump over a speaker at his weekend rally in New York who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”.

“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters, his, his demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable and it’sun-American,” the President said.

His comments were immediately likened to an infamous moment in the 2016 campaign, when then Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton described half of Mr Trump’s supporters as a “basket of deplorables”.

Mr Biden later argued in a statement that he was referring to “the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporterat his Madison Square Garden rally”.

“His demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say,” he said.

Mr Trump’s running mate JD Vance accused him of “attacking half the country”.

“This is disgusting … There’s no excuse for this,” he said.

Other key moments in the campaign today include:

*Analysis: Harris final pitch ‘an act of hope’

*Polling for Ms Harris and Mr Trump has become even tighter

*Former first lady Melania Trump delivered a rare interview to confirm her husband is not a Nazi

*Analysis: Eight reasons why Mr Trump can win the election  

FOLLOW UPDATES BELOW:

Originally published as US Election Live Blog: Joe Biden calls Trump supporters ‘garbage’

Read related topics:Donald Trump

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Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/world/united-states/election/us-election-live-blog-donald-trump-faces-heart-of-garbage-island-as-kamala-harris-returns-to-capitol-riot/live-coverage/3b1c0c71e4e81c4af90365d2061b42b0