In a dramatic gesture aimed at President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, former US President Donald Trump arrived at a Wisconsin airport on Wednesday in a truck designed to make a statement – a “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN Garbage Truck.” Sporting an orange safety vest and seated in the passenger seat, Trump asked gathered reporters, “How do you like my garbage truck?” He quickly followed up with the jab, “This truck is in honour of Kamala and Joe Biden.”
This provocative scene emerged just a day after Biden, on a campaign call with supporters, referred to Trump’s followers as “garbage.” Biden’s remark, made in response to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s recent statements, sparked backlash from Republican leaders.
Hinchcliffe had caused a stir by describing Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage” during Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally. Biden condemned the comments, saying, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
Republican leaders wasted no time in denouncing Biden’s comment, drawing parallels to Hillary Clinton’s controversial “basket of deplorables” statement from 2016. The White House attempted to downplay Biden’s phrasing by editing the official transcript, punctuating “supporters” with an apostrophe to imply his remark was directed solely at Hinchcliffe.
Biden later clarified his stance on social media, saying, “It’s the demonisations of Latinos that’s unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say.”
The MAGA garbage truck, trailing Trump’s motorcade as he headed towards his Green Bay rally, quickly became a symbol of the escalating tensions in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election.
Billionaire Elon Musk was thoroughly impressed with Trump’s garbage collector stunt and posted a series of tweets praising him.
Calling it ‘genius-level trolling’, Musk added: “The second Trump Presidency will be the most fun America has had in a while. It’s gonna be awesome!” He also said that Trump doing his entire speech in the garbage collector outfit was “epic”.
Trump, at the rally, distancing himself from Hinchcliffe’s remarks, dismissed the comedian’s statement, claiming he had no involvement.
When asked if he intended to apologise to Puerto Rico, Trump responded, “I don’t know anything about a comedian. I heard he made a statement, but he’s a comedian. What can I tell you?” He added, “Nobody has done more for Puerto Rico than me. When they had the big hurricanes, I was there for them. The Puerto Rican people love me, and I love them.”
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