Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has sought to distance herself from comments by US President Joe Biden appearing to refer to Republican Donald Trump's supporters as "garbage".
Mr Biden caused a firestorm with the remarks in a campaign call yesterday, as he addressed a row that erupted after one of Mr Trump's warm-up speakers at a New York rally referred to Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage."
"Listen, I think that first of all, he clarified his comments," Vice President Harris told reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington when asked about the outgoing president's words.
"But let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for."
US President Joe Biden's supposed attempt to call out racist remarks by a speaker at a campaign rally for Donald Trump backfired as Donald Trump and other Republicans accused him of calling their supporters "garbage".
Just days ahead of a razor-tight contest between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Donald Trump that will decide who takes control of the world's leading economy, Mr Biden and his White House quickly sought to stem any further fallout from the gaffe.
The saga started when comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage" at a rally at New York's Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Speaking during a fundraising call yesterday, Mr Biden said, "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 posted on X by a White House spokesperson.
Several news organizations cited the same quote but without the apostrophe amid criticism that Biden had appeared to direct his garbage comment at Trump supporters more broadly.
Biden also sought to clarify matters on X.
Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage—which is the only word I can think of to describe it. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That's all I meant to say. The…
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 30, 2024
Harris urges Americans to write 'next chapter'
US Vice President Kamala Harris has urged Americans to write the "next chapter" for their country and reject Donald Trump's chaos and division as she delivered a powerful closing argument to voters against the glowing backdrop of the White House.
She warned against Mr Trump's lust for "unchecked power" as she addressed a mass rally at the site where her Republican rival riled up a mob before the deadly 6 January 2021 assault on the US Capitol.
"This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power," she said in the speech, exactly a week before Americans go to the polls in the most dramatic and divisive election of modern times.
But Ms Harris then pivoted to an optimistic vision of the United States' future, using the setting of the White House lit up against the night behind her as a symbolic pitch to show that she is ready for the presidency.
"America, I am here tonight to say that's not who we are," Ms Harris told the huge crowd of flag-waving supporters.
"Each of you has the power to turn the page and start writing the next chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told."
Ms Harris's campaign claimed 75,000 people attended the rally. The number could not be immediately verified, but the crowd was unusually large in an election that has seen heavy enthusiasm on both sides.
'Chaos and division'
Crowds stretched from the Ellipse, a park bordering the White House grounds where Ms Harris spoke, all the way back to the Washington Monument, the obelisk towering over the National Mall.
Speaking from behind bulletproof screens next to blue signs saying "Freedom," Ms Harris warned that the election was a choice between a "country rooted in freedom for every American or ruled by chaos and division."
Ms Harris reminded the crowd that Mr Trump stood at the same spot nearly four years ago and "sent an armed mob" to the Capitol.
After Mr Trump urged supporters in a speech there to "fight like hell", many then marched on the iconic domed seat of government to disrupt the certification of President Joe Biden's victory.
But while her speech began with the dramatic attack on Mr Trump, she soon switched to a recap of her detailed plans to help financially struggling middle-class Americans.
She got one of the biggest cheers when she referred to Republicans seeking to curtail abortion, saying the government should not be "telling women what to do with their bodies."
Ms Harris also addressed one of her main weaknesses - the fact that some voters still see her as a continuation of Mr Biden, who dropped out of the White House race in July.
"My presidency will be different, because the challenges we face are different," she vowed.
Although there is still a week to go, the Harris campaign cast her speech as a "closing argument" - a nod to her career as a prosecutor.
"I think of this as a cleansing for what happened on January 6," said Mitzi Maxwell, 69, who came from Florida with her mother to see "all the love and passion and excitement that she (Harris) has become known for."
Some Harris supporters queued for more than seven hours before the speech, whose sheer scale and energy was a direct challenge to Mr Trump, a politician who has always boasted about his ability to draw crowds.
Ms Harris and Mr Trump remain in a dead heat in the polls, with both desperately trying to convince undecided voters in seven key swing states.
