"Teaching a Master Class in trolling" - Internet reacts to Donald Trump wearing trash truck safety vest after Joe Biden "garbage" remark
On October 30, 2024, US Republican candidate Donald Trump showed up at his Wisconsin rally dressed like a sanitation worker as a rebuttal for President Joe Biden seemingly calling Trump supporters "garbage." Biden's comments came as a response to a comedian at Trump's New York rally, who resorted to racist rhetoric against Puerto Rico, calling it "a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean."
Donned in a reflective orange safety vest, the former president took to answering questions in a garbage truck, which had "TRUMP" emblazoned on the side. He also addressed his supporters during his almost 90-minute speech at the rally, saying:
"I have to begin by saying 250 million Americans are not garbage. This week, Kamala has been comparing her political opponents to the most evil mass murderers in history, and now, speaking on a call for her campaign last night, crooked Joe Biden finally said what he and Kamala really think of our supporters. He called them garbage. No way!"
Donald Trump's latest stunt as a sanitation worker was met with praise from his followers on social media. Many lauded him for trolling Biden and the Democrats, with one person posting on X:
"Trump is teaching a Master Class in trolling... Epic... The man is a legend!"
Several agreed with this sentiment, calling Donald Trump the greatest and revising his slogan to say "Make garbage great again."
"MAKE GARBAGE GREAT AGAIN! LFG!" one person tweeted.
"Who else could pull such a thing off?" another person questioned.
"Donald Trump is the greatest," someone else added.
"This man is the ULTIMATE troll. Everything the left does he uses against them. Well played Mr. President," another netizen commented.
However, others criticized the outrage Biden received for his comments, claiming Trump had previously bad-mouthed his opponents with no backlash.
"The phony outrage over Biden's comment is garbage," one person tweeted.
"As a reminder, here are some of the things Donald Trump has called those who oppose him: - Losers - Communists - Marxists - Unpatriotic - Anti-American - Enemies of the people - The enemy within The faux outrage about Joe Biden's garbage comment is indeed that. Garbage," another person added.
"Donald Trump calls 335M Americans “garbage” … MAGA Crickets. Joe Biden calls the hosts of a racist rally “garbage” for their racist remarks… MAGA Goes Bonkers. MAGA really hate being called out for exactly what they are. RACIST GARBAGE," someone else commented.
"MAGA said nothing when Donald Trump called the United States a garbage can. MAGA laughed when Puerto Rico was referred to as a floating island of garbage. Said to relax, it’s just a joke, it’s just comedy. President Biden refers to MAGA’s demonization of Latinos and Puerto Rico, as garbage. MAGA be like…" another netizen wrote.
What did Biden say about Donald Trump's supporters?
On October 29, President Joe Biden joined a Zoom call with a Latino voters organization. During the call, he addressed comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's racially stereotypical comments made during Donald Trump's Madison Square Garden rally on October 27.
"The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s – his – his – his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been," he said.
As his comments went viral online, many Trump supporters believed his statement was an attack against them. However, Biden later clarified he was referring to Hinchcliffe's "hateful rhetoric" as garbage and not Trump's supporters.
US Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris also addressed Joe Biden's remarks on October 30. She said she "strongly disagreed" with criticizing people based on who they supported during the election, adding:
“I’ve been very clear with the American public – I respect the challenges that people face, I respect the fact that we all have so much more in common than what separates us."
Tony Hinchcliffe's racially stereotypical comments about Puerto Rico drew immense backlash from members of the community. Celebrities like Bad Bunny, J. Lo and Ricky Martin endorsed Harris after Trump's NY rally.
According to The Guardian, Donald Trump maintained he was unaware of who Hinchcliffe was and how he got a spot to speak at the rally. When asked about it during his Wisconsin rally, the former president said he had never seen the comedian.
Following the backlash after the Madison Square Garden rally, Trump's campaign sought to dissociate him from Hinchcliffe's comments. A spokesperson for his team said the comments did not reflect the former president or his campaign.
In other news, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are expected to campaign individually in Nevada on Halloween, with just five days left for the presidential election.