Trump boarded a garbage truck to highlight Biden’s speech and campaign with Favre

Adriana Gomez Licon and Jonathan J. Cooper
| Associated Press

Green Bay, Wisconsin. – 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 the 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: this suggests that 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 are facing their own criticism for comments made by a comedian at a Trump rally over the weekend, which called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Trump then seized on a comment Biden made during a call late Wednesday: “The only trash I see out there are his supporters.”

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.

Trump and Favre

Trump heaped praise on former NFL star Brett Favre during a rally in Green Bay where the former Packers quarterback was campaigning for the Republican presidential nominee in the final week before Election Day.

“Thank you, Brett. What a great honor. What a great champion,” Trump said shortly after taking the stage at the Resch Center. Calling Favre’s fingers “like sausages,” he said, “It’s no wonder he could throw the ball.”

“I’m a little upset because I think he got more applause than I did, and I’m not happy,” the former president continued, joking about the ovation Favre received in a district Trump narrowly won in 2020.

Trump reignited another controversy by reconsidering his promise to “protect our nation’s women.”

After complaining that his own staff told him it was “inappropriate,” Trump insisted, “I’ll do it whether women like it or not.”

Trump has rallied with Favre in the critical state with just six days until the election. In a sign of the state’s importance, Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, was simultaneously campaigning in the overwhelmingly Democratic voting district of Madison, about 2 1/2 hours away.

Favre, who won three NFL Most Valuable Player awards and a Super Bowl with Green Bay in the 1990s, praised Trump ahead of the former president’s visit, telling the crowd: “Just like the Packer organization, Donald Trump and his organization have become winners.”

“The United States of America won because of his leadership,” Favre said.