Harris breaks with Biden over 'garbage' comment about Trump's supporters after reluctance to distance herself

Vice President Kamala Harris disagreed with President Joe Biden's comments when he appeared to refer to former President Donald Trump's supporters as “garbage," saying that while the president clarified his remarks, she does not agree with criticisms of voters based on whom they're supporting.

“First of all he clarified his comments, but let me be clear: I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for," she told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Harris pointed to her speech on the Ellipse on Tuesday evening in which she pledged to be a president for all Americans as she courted undecided voters.

"I've been very clear with the American public: I respect the challenges that people face," she said. “I am serious, what I mean when elected president, I will represent all Americans, including folks who don't vote for me, and address their needs and their desires.”

Biden had addressed offensive comments comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made at Trump’s rally on Sunday, where he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage." Biden, during a virtual event Tuesday with Voto Latino, criticized those comments and went on to say: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s – his – his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and it’s un-American,” according to a transcript released by the White House.

The president and the White House quickly clarified that the Biden was talking about Hinchcliffe specifically.

When speaking with reporters Wednesday, Harris said that she spoke with Biden after her speech Tuesday but that the two did not talk about his "garbage" comment.

After Biden's remark, Trump, at a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, called the president's remarks “terrible," likening them to Hillary Clinton's comments calling half of his supporters "deplorables" during the 2016 presidential campaign, which he later won.

Harris has come under fire for being reluctant to lay out how she will be different from Biden's presidency. During an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier earlier this month, Harris was pressed to lay out how her presidency would be different from Biden's.

"Let me be very clear: My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency," Harris told Baier. "And like every new president that comes into office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences, and fresh new ideas."

In her speech Tuesday, Harris further clarified how her administration would differ from Biden's.

“My presidency will be different, because the challenges we face are different,” she said, adding that four years ago she and Biden were focused on ending the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing the economy. “Now, our biggest challenge is to lower costs, costs that were rising even before the pandemic and that are still too high.”

The fallout of Biden's comments comes days after Trump was criticized for his Madison Square Garden rally that was overshadowed by racist tropes and vitriol from speakers like Hinchcliffe. Trump and his campaign have distanced themselves from Hinchcliffe's comments after widespread backlash, especially among Puerto Ricans and other Latino voters.

Democrats, including Harris, have been critical of the language Trump has used to describe people who do not support him, such as referring to them as "the enemy within."

"This is not a candidate for president who is thinking about how to make your life better," Harris said Tuesday evening.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Harris breaks with Biden's 'garbage' remarks about Trump supporters