Trump boards a garbage truck to draw attention to Biden's remark

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – Donald Trump walked down the steps of the Boeing 757 that bears his name, ran along a rain-slick runway and, after missing the handle twice, climbed into the passenger seat of a white garbage truck that also bore his name.

The former president, once a reality TV star known for his sensationalism, wanted to draw attention to a comment his successor, the Democratic president, made a day earlier Joe BidenThe suggested that Trump's supporters were trash. Trump has used the remark as a cudgel against his Democratic rival, the vice president Kamala Harris.

“How do you like my garbage truck?” Trump said, wearing an orange and yellow safety vest over his white shirt and red tie. “This is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.”

Trump and other Republicans faced comments from a comedian at a Trump rally over the weekend who denounced Puerto Rico as a “floating island of trash.” Trump then echoed a remark Biden made during a phone call late Wednesday: “The only trash I see floating out there is his supporters.”

The president later tried to clarify the comment, saying he meant to say Trump's demonization of Latinos was unreasonable. But it was too late.

On Thursday, after arriving in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for an evening rally, Trump climbed into the garbage truck and had a brief discussion with reporters while looking out the window – similar to what he did during a rally earlier this month Photo opportunity He performed at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania.

He again tried to distance himself from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose joke sparked the firestorm, but Trump did not condemn him. He also said he had no need to apologize to Puerto Ricans.

“I don’t know anything about the comedian,” Trump said. “I don't know who he is. I've never seen him before. I heard he made a statement, but it was a statement 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 did not address it himself.

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

He ended the brief appearance by telling reporters: “I hope you enjoyed this garbage truck. Thank you.”

When he took the stage a short time later, he was still wearing the orange vest.