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Voted-out Republicans are using Biden's “garbage” comment to close the gap in recent days

Voted-out Republicans are using Biden's “garbage” comment to close the gap in recent days

With less than a week to go before Election Day, Republicans in tight Senate races are piling on President Biden's labeling of former President Trump's supporters as “trash” in a final bid to win Republican support.

Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick released a campaign ad Wednesday with video footage of Biden's remarks, followed by footage of his incumbent rival, Sen. Bob Casey, praising Biden.

“Donald Trump has no character. He doesn’t give a damn about the Latino community,” Biden said during a campaign call at the White House on Tuesday. “The other day a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of trash.

“The only trash I see out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and un-American.”

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Dave McCormick smiles

Dave McCormick, Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Pennsylvania, greets his supporters at the Indigo Hotel during a primary night event on May 17, 2022 in Pittsburgh. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

The McCormick ad featured Biden's remarks and a video in which Casey praised Biden as a man of unparalleled “integrity.”

“Clean up your mess on November 5th. Vote Republican. Vote for Dave McCormick,” the ad says in a voiceover.

Biden's comments sparked strong criticism from Republicans across the country. Some compared her to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's “basket of deplorables” during a fundraiser during her failed 2016 campaign, which was likely to undermine her campaign.

“We are not trash. We are patriots who love America,” Sen. Marco Rubio said Tuesday at a Trump rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

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The White House has sought to walk back Biden's comment, saying it referred specifically to remarks Trump made during his large rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, host of the popular podcast “Kill Tony,” sparked backlash after he joked about Puerto Rico being a “floating island of trash” hours before Trump's appearance at Madison Square Garden.

The White House tried to walk back the president's comments on Tuesday evening. Administration spokesman Andrew Bates told Fox News that Jacqui Heinrich Biden's remark “called the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally 'garbage.'

Biden added in further clarification to X that he was referring to the comedian's rhetoric and not Trump supporters across the board.

Biden alongside Shapiro from 2023

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro watches as President Biden delivers his speech after a briefing on emergency repair and reconstruction efforts for the Interstate 95 freeway in Philadelphia, June 17, 2023. (Julia Nikhinson/AFP via Getty Images)

“Today I pointed out the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico “Spewed out as trash by Trump's supporters at his Madison Square Garden rally – that's the only word I can think of to describe it,” Biden wrote in a post on X. “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable.” That's all , what I wanted to say. The comments at this rally do not reflect who we are as a nation.”

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“Senator Casey respects all Pennsylvanians, regardless of how they vote,” Casey’s campaign spokesman Maddy McDaniel told Fox News Digital when asked for comment on McCormick’s ad.

Bob Casey, Dave McCormick

McCormick believes Pennsylvania voters recognize the importance of the 2024 election. (Reuters and Associated Press)

The National Republican Senatorial Committee also weighed in on Biden's comments, noting that four Democrats are in a tough race against Republican challengers – Montana Sen. Jon Tester, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, and Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for Senate in Arizona, for previous negative comments about Trump supporters.

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The NRSC compared Biden's comments to Baldwin's statement in 2016 that Republicans had failed a “moral test.” for their Trump support and Gallego claimed in 2016 that Trump's campaign had “pulled out the worst people in the world.”

Trump

Former President Trump on Fox News hosts Sean Hannity's show on Tuesday, October 29, 2024. (Fox News)

“These Democrats have spent years attacking Donald Trump and his supporters as deplorable and racist, even calling them 'the worst people in the world.'” “Now that they are shamelessly soliciting support from Trump supporters, voters must know whether they will condemn Joe Biden’s vile comments or give in again,” NRSC spokesman Philip Letsou said in comments to the four Democrats.

The Trump campaign also condemned the comments, claiming that Biden and Vice President Harris not only “hate President Trump” but also “despise” his millions of supporters.

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“President Trump is supported by Latinos, Black voters, unionists, angel mothers, police officers, border patrol agents and Americans of all faiths, and Harris, Walz and Biden have called these great Americans fascists, Nazis and now trash.” There is no way it to twist: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris not only hate President Trump, they also despise the tens of millions of Americans who support him. “President Trump will not be president for ALL Americans,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a comment.

Dave McCormick shakes hands with Donald Trump at the rally

Former President Trump, Republican presidential candidate, and Dave McCormick, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate for Pennsylvania, shake hands during a campaign event in Reading, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma. 9. 2024. (REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)

McCormick appeared on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday, where he condemned Biden's rhetoric and called for an apology.

“Any time you call half of Americans trash because half the population supports President Trump, I think that's the kind of divisive rhetoric we need to get out of politics. I think it's terribly polarizing. And that's not just the case.” President Biden, Kamala Harris and Bob Casey have hurt more than half of Americans through skyrocketing prices and the fentanyl crisis. Now they are actually showing disrespect towards him. I hope the president apologizes for this during a conversation with Fox News from a restaurant in Gap, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday.

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“I think it shows how they really feel about people who support President Trump,” he said.

Harris also distanced herself from Biden's comments on Wednesday, saying her final speech to voters in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday showed that if elected, she would govern all Americans, regardless of their political party.

“I think that 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 constantly throughout my career,” Harris said. “I believe my job is about representing all people, whether they support me or not, and as president of the United States, I will be a president for all Americans, whether you vote for me or not.”

Get the latest updates on the 2024 election, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital Election Center.

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