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The former president, once a reality TV star known for his
showmanship, wanted to draw attention to a remark made a day
earlier by his successor, Democratic President Joe Biden, that
suggested Trump's supporters were garbage. Trump has used the
remark as a cudgel against his Democratic rival, Vice President
Kamala Harris.
“How do you like my garbage truck?” Trump said, wearing an
orange and yellow safety vest over his white dress shirt and red
tie. “This is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.”
Trump and other Republicans were facing pushback of their own
for comments by a comedian at a weekend Trump rally who
disparaged Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” Trump
then seized on a comment Biden made on a late Wednesday call
that "The only garbage I see floating out there is his
supporters.”
The president tried to clarify the comment afterward, saying he
had intended to say Trump's demonization of Latinos was
unconscionable. But it was too late.
On Thursday, after arriving in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for an
evening rally, Trump climbed into the garbage truck, carrying on
a brief discussion with reporters while looking out the window —
similar to what he did earlier this month during a photo
opportunity he staged at a Pennsylvania McDonalds.
He again tried to distance himself from comedian Tony
Hinchcliffe, whose joke had set off the firestorm, but Trump did
not denounce it. He also said he did not need to apologize to
Puerto Ricans.
“I don’t know anything about the comedian,” Trump said. “I don’t
know who he is. I’ve never seen him. I heard he made a
statement, but it was a statement that he made. He’s a comedian,
what can I tell you. I know nothing about him.”
A spokesperson for Trump said the joke doesn't reflect his
views, but the former president has not addressed it himself.
“I love Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico loves me,” Trump said from
the garbage truck.
He ended the brief appearance by telling reporters: “I hope you
enjoyed this garbage truck. Thank you very much.”
When he took the stage a short time later, he was still wearing
the orange vest.
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