GREEN BAY: Donald Trump walked down the steps of the Boeing 757 that bears his name, crossed a rain-soaked tarmac, and, after twice missing the handle, climbed into the passenger seat of a white garbage truck that also carried his name.
The former president, once a reality TV star known for his showmanship, aimed to draw attention to a remark made a day earlier by his successor, Democratic President Joe Biden, which suggested that Trump's supporters were garbage. Trump has used this 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 his white dress shirt and red tie. “This is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.”
Trump and other Republicans faced pushback for comments made by a comedian at a weekend rally who disparaged Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” Trump seized on Biden’s comment from a late Wednesday call: "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.”
The president later attempted to clarify his remark, stating he intended to criticize Trump’s demonization of Latinos as unconscionable. But it was too late.
On Thursday, after arriving in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for an evening rally, Trump climbed into the garbage truck and engaged in a brief discussion with reporters while looking out the window similar to what he had done earlier this month during a photo opportunity he staged at a Pennsylvania McDonald's.
He again tried to distance himself from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose joke had sparked the controversy, but Trump did not denounce it. He also stated that he did not 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. I heard he made a statement, but it was a statement that he made. He’s a comedian; what can I tell you? I know nothing about him.”
A spokesperson for Trump said the joke does not reflect his views, but the former president has not addressed it directly.
“I love Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico loves me,” Trump said from the garbage truck. He ended his brief appearance by telling reporters, “I hope you enjoyed this garbage truck. Thank you very much.”
When he took the stage a short time later, he was still wearing the orange vest.