Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance on Monday — the eve of the 2024 election — faced backlash for describing Democratic candidate Kamala Harris as “trash”.
Vance went to great lengths during a campaign rally in Atlanta to paint former President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement as inclusive and loving as he urged voters not to nix longtime friendships with or shun family members who vote “the wrong way” on Tuesday.
Vance then undid all that posturing, though, as — in a reference to President Joe Biden’s since-clarified statement that Trump supporters are “garbage” — he listed why Trump fans aren’t.
“Our message to Kamala Harris is very simple,” Vance said. “The citizens of this country are not garbage for thinking you’re doing a bad job. The citizens of this country are not racist for thinking you ought to close down that damn southern border. The citizens of this country are not garbage for wanting to be able to afford groceries and a nice place to live.”
Then he concluded, “But in two days, we are gonna take out the trash in Washington, D.C. And the trash’s name is Kamala Harris.”
Watch from the 32-minute mark here:
The comment went viral on X, formerly Twitter.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wrote, “Not too sure that Republicans going from calling Puerto Ricans garbage to calling a woman garbage is the whiz-bang political chess move they think it is.”
Michael Steele, the former chair of the Republican National Committee, meanwhile, asked Vance if it was really his closing message of the election campaign.
“I’m curious, how do you explain your behaviour and your words to your children?” Steele added. “‘Family values’ much? It’s been amazing to watch your ambition drive you to become the very things you once said about Trump.”
Others agreed, calling it “jaw-dropping” and “the kind of language you use when you’re losing.”