Talking Trash: Independents react negatively to Biden calling Trump supporters ‘garbage’

CV NEWSFEED // Fox News on Thursday published the results of a focus group showing negative reactions by Independent voters to President Joe Biden calling Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s supporters “garbage.”

The focus group was comprised of self-identifying Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who were given dials to indicate their reactions to the now-viral clip of Biden saying, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.” The controversial comments were made during a virtual campaign call for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris with Latino voters. 

Fox reported on the results of the clip for viewers in the focus group: 

The test revealed that, while Democratic participants remained somewhat positive about Biden’s anti-Trump statements – including when he appeared to call Trump supporters “garbage” – Republicans and Independents sharply dipped into negative reactions as he made them.

Independents’ reactions throughout the video continued to trend in the negative:

The yellow line representing independents also dipped low into negative response for the majority of the clip as well. 

While never registering as intensely negative as the red line, the yellow line sharply dropped off the neutral plane as Biden declared that Trump “doesn’t care about the Latino community” and that he’s a “failed businessman.”

The Independent line stayed low until it briefly ticked up (while still in the negative) when Biden mentioned Trump wanting to end “birthright citizenship.”

Once Biden appeared to say, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” the yellow line took a notable downturn again, getting close to the Republican reaction line that was at its lowest point.

The official White House transcript quotes Biden as saying, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”  

On Wednesday, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-NY, and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-KY, accused the White House of doctoring the transcripts, a federal offense, while Biden took to X to try and walk back his comments.

Stefanik and Comer stated:

Americans were rightfully insulted, then, when President Biden, seeking to boost Ms. Harris’s presidential campaign, referred to an enormous swath of the country as “floating . . . garbage.” President Biden’s vindictive words were unsurprising, given his previous statements regarding people who choose not to vote for his preferred candidate. 5 Unsurprising too were the White House’s actions after he said them. Instead of apologizing or clarifying President Biden’s words, the White House instead sought to change them (despite them being recorded on video) by releasing a false transcript of his remarks.6 The move is not only craven, but it also appears to be in violation of federal law, including the Presidential Records Act of 1978.

Trump responded to the comments by showing up to his most recent rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in an orange safety vest after being picked up in a decked-out garbage truck, stating, “This is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.”

Later that evening Trump took to the stage in the safety vest and addressed Biden’s comments, “What a stupid word, that blows deplorable away don’t you think?”