Democrats in closely watched congressional races criticize Biden's 'garbage' remark

WASHINGTON – Several congressional Democrats running in tight 2024 races became the latest members of President Joe Biden’s party on Wednesday to criticize his “garbage” remark about Donald Trump's supporters.

Elissa Slotkin, the Democratic Senate candidate running in Michigan, and Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Jon Tester of Montana and Sherrod Brown of Ohio all took issue with the comments from the sitting president of the United States.

“In terms of what President Biden said yesterday, he shouldn’t have said it. I mean, it’s inappropriate. And, for me, I just think that kind of talk is the last thing we need in our politics,” Slotkin told WWJ Newsradio, a local Michigan radio station.

Slotkin argued that most Michiganders want Democrats and Republicans to debate their issues “in a civil and reasonable way, and not, you know, get into name calling.”

“So I just, I didn’t like that, I thought it was unnecessary, but this is why I think we’re all ready for this election to be over,” she added.

Rep. Jared Golden, who is running for a fourth term in Maine and Rep. Don Davis, who is running for re-election in North Carolina, also raised questions about Biden's remarks.

Writing on X, Golden shared "Any elected official or candidate who calls Americans or America 'garbage' is flat out wrong. We don’t need leaders to add fuel to partisan fires that are dividing us."

"Americans are bound together as citizens of our great country," added Golden in a follow-up tweet. "What we need most is to work together toward common goals and to overcome common challenges for the good of our communities and country."

Davis wrote on X that "We must lower the temperature on all fronts and reject referring to individuals or communities as ‘garbage.’" Baldwin, Tester and Brown's campaigns each told USA TODAY the respective senators don't agree with Biden's comment.

Golden represents a large rural district encompassing central and northern Maine. His race against Republican challenger Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver, is considered a toss-up, according to the Cook Political Report. Davis is running against Republican Laurie Buckhout in the newly drawn 1st District of North Carolina, also considered a toss-up.

Slotkin, a three-term U.S. congresswoman, is running against Republican Mike Rogers for a Senate seat left open by retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Numerous polls show Slotkin leading by a few percentage points against Rogers.

And Brown, Baldwin and Tester's races could determine whether Republicans or Democrats control the Senate next year. Brown is running against businessman Bernie Moreno, Baldwin is facing off against entrepreneur Eric Hovde and Tester is battling veteran and businessman Tim Sheehy for the seat.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro have also sought to distance themselves from Biden's remarks with just days to go before Election Day on Nov. 5.

Biden’s comments came after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe said Puerto Rico was a “floating island of garbage” during Trump's Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday in New York. During a zoom call with a nonprofit organization, the president said that the only “garbage” he saw “floating out there” were “his supporter's,” though it was not clear at the time whether he was referring to Hinchcliffe or all of Trump’s supporters. Many Republicans interpreted it as the latter.

Biden later posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he “referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage.”

Shapiro told CNN on Tuesday night that he would "never insult the good people of Pennsylvania or any Americans even if they chose to support a candidate that I didn’t support." Harris on Wednesday said that while the president clarified his remarks, she strongly disagrees with criticizing anyone "based on who they vote for."

Contributing: Rebecca Morin and Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden's 'garbage' comment under fire from some Democrats