Donald Trump boarded a garbage truck to draw attention to Joe Biden’s remarks

Donald Trump walked down the steps of the Boeing 757 that bears his name, walked across the rain-wet asphalt and, after failing twice with the handle, climbed into the passenger seat of a white garbage truck that also bore his name.

The former president, who was 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 said Trump supporters were trash. Trump 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 a white dress shirt and red tie. “This is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.”

Trump and other Republicans have faced their own criticism for comments from a comedian at a Trump rally over the weekend who disparagingly called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Trump then seized on a comment Biden made during a call late Wednesday that “the only trash I see out there are his supporters.”

CONNECTED: Harris distances herself from Biden’s ‘trash’ comment

The president later tried to clarify the comment, saying he 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 a garbage truck and spoke briefly with reporters while looking out the window – similar to what he did earlier this month during a self-hosted photo opportunity. at the Pennsylvania McDonald’s.

He again tried to distance himself from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose joke sparked outrage, but Trump did not condemn it. He also said he doesn’t need to apologize to Puerto Ricans.

“I don’t know anything about this comedian,” Trump said. “I don’t know who he is. I’ve never seen him. I heard that he made a statement, but it was a statement that he made. He’s a comedian, what can I tell you. I don’t know anything about him.”

A spokesman for Trump said the joke did not reflect his views, but the former president himself has not spoken out on the matter.

“I love Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico loves me,” Trump said from a garbage truck.

He concluded his brief speech by telling reporters: “I hope you enjoyed this garbage truck. Thank you very much.”

When he took the stage soon after, he was still wearing his orange vest.