Biden Criticizes Trump and MAGA Supporters in Fiery Campaign Speech Ahead of 2024 Election
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During a campaign stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania, President Joe Biden delivered a sharp rebuke of former President Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters. Speaking at a local carpenters’ union event on Saturday, October 2, Biden passionately criticized Trump’s policies, especially regarding tax cuts for the wealthy, and expressed frustration with Trump’s staunchest supporters.
Biden’s comments in Scranton were particularly blunt. Reflecting on his own working-class roots, Biden said that in his old Scranton neighborhood, people wouldn’t have tolerated behavior like Trump’s and would have handled things differently. “There’s one more thing Trump and his Republican friends want to do,” Biden began. “They want another giant tax cut for the wealthy. Now, I know some of you guys are tempted to think it’s macho guy stuff.”
Recalling his days in Scranton, Biden said, “When I was in Scranton, I used to, we used to have a little trouble going down The Plot once in a while. From Green Ridge. But I’m serious,” he said, clenching his fists. Biden’s remarks, reported by the New York Post, included a pointed jab at Trump, saying, “These are the kind of guys you’d like to smack in the ass!”
Biden’s criticisms centered around Trump’s economic policies, which he argued would only benefit the wealthy while undermining the working class. “They [Republicans] want to get rid of policies that grow the economy for everyone. Why? Cheaper labor overseas,” Biden asserted, explaining that Trump’s presidency would prioritize tax cuts for the wealthy, putting middle- and working-class Americans at a disadvantage.
These pointed remarks come on the heels of Biden’s recent controversy over comments he made about Trump supporters. Biden recently faced backlash for referring to some Trump supporters as “garbage” following remarks made at a Trump rally by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”
In a call with the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino, Biden responded to Hinchcliffe’s comments, saying, “In my home state of Delaware, Puerto Ricans are good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.” Biden condemned what he described as un-American rhetoric and demonization of Latinos, stirring strong reactions from Trump supporters, per HuffPost.
The controversy escalated as Trump supporters responded to Biden’s comment by donning garbage bags at rallies and creating spectacle with trash-themed props, including Trump driving a trash truck to a rally in Wisconsin. Following the uproar, White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates clarified the president’s remarks by sharing a transcript with an apostrophe added to the word “supporters,” indicating Biden was referring to Hinchcliffe’s rhetoric as “garbage” rather than Trump’s base as a whole.
Biden later addressed the situation on X, formerly Twitter, writing, “Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage—which is the only word I can think of to describe it. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.”
With Election Day approaching, Biden’s sharpened rhetoric underscores the stakes of the 2024 race, particularly as he positions himself against Trump’s policies on taxes and immigration. By leaning into his Scranton roots and speaking directly to the concerns of working Americans, Biden aims to draw a clear contrast with his opponent, rallying his base with a passionate message of economic fairness and inclusion.
