No matter how the November 5th election goes, the chaotic week before will be hard to forget, with conversations dominated by terms like “floating island of garbage” and “garbage supporters,” and debates swirling over punctuation and interpretation.
The first comment came from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, sparking immediate outrage and accusations that his joke was proof of Trump’s disdain for minority communities. The second came from President Joe Biden, who, during a call with “Voto Latino” on Tuesday, referred to Trump’s supporters as “garbage” — just as Kamala Harris was preparing to deliver her “unity” speech.
The media quickly jumped in to defend Biden and Harris from GOP criticism. Politico’s Jon Lemire was a standout, as noted by RedState’s Teri Christoph:
The full Biden quote from the Zoom tonight, which is being taken out of context: pic.twitter.com/fHT9PvVjiO
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) October 30, 2024
Lemire went as far as to attribute Biden’s remark to his “childhood stutter,” explaining that Biden “routinely shifts course in mid-sentence and rambles.” Politico claimed that Biden’s stutter and the White House’s strategic apostrophe change in “supporters” explained the situation, downplaying the remark.
Over at the Washington Post, where writers have long felt lukewarm about endorsing Harris, senior reporter Aaron Blake dissected the Biden video in a way that resembled a Zapruder analysis. Blake presented three interpretations of Biden’s comment:
Biden’s ‘garbage’ comment, parsed https://t.co/qBs8wy8GJA
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) October 30, 2024
• “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
• “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters’ — his — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
• “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
One day apart pic.twitter.com/NilkL4FkwW
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) October 30, 2024
I'm going to need a ruling on this from the press:
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) October 30, 2024
Is it "Republicans Pounce", or is it "Republican's Pounce"??? https://t.co/fF8ide6S7G
"It may come down to the placement of an apostrophe, and it’s worth a parse." https://t.co/nrI9EWTJUK
— Brittany (@bccover) October 30, 2024
Blake then offered a “Biden is often confused” explanation, pointing to Biden’s frequent mid-sentence changes and occasional non sequiturs, an explanation used to justify the White House’s switch in the transcript from “supporters’” (plural possessive) to “supporter’s” (singular possessive), suggesting it was aimed at Hinchcliffe specifically.
Blake concluded by suggesting that past Republican attempts to spin Biden’s gaffes into a “deplorables” moment should be remembered in assessing the remark. “If there’s a lesson in all of this,” Blake wrote, “it’s that Democrats should probably be glad the guy who keeps stepping in it like this isn’t actually leading their ticket anymore.”
The real takeaway? The media, once again, is operating in full spin mode. As the saying goes: “If you think you hate the media, you probably don’t hate them nearly enough.”
