Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump sits inside garbage truck, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S., on October 30, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walked down the steps of the Boeing 757 that bears his name, across a rain-soaked tarmac and climbed into the passenger seat of a white garbage truck that also carried his name.

The former president wanted to draw attention to a remark made a day earlier by his successor, Democratic President Joe Biden, that suggested Mr. Trump’s supporters were “garbage”. Mr. Trump has used the remark as a cudgel against his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

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

Mr. Trump and other Republicans were facing pushback of their own for comments by a comedian at a weekend Mr. Trump rally who disparaged Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” Mr. Trump then seized on a comment Mr. Biden made on a late Wednesday call that “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.”

The president tried to clarify the comment afterwards, saying he had intended to say Mr. Trump’s demonisation of Latinos was unconscionable. But it was too late.

Distances from Puerto Rican joke

On Thursday (October 31, 2024), after arriving in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for an evening rally, Mr. Trump climbed into the garbage truck, carrying on a brief discussion with reporters while looking out the window — similar to what he did earlier this month during a photo opportunity he staged at a Pennsylvania McDonalds.

He again tried to distance himself from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose joke had set off the firestorm, but Mr. Trump did not denounce it. He also said he did not need to apologise 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 Mr. Trump said the joke doesn’t reflect his views, but the former president has not addressed it himself.

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

He ended the 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.