This is deplorable. The Harris people are bitterly clinging to their Nazi and garbage lines of attack, insisting that nobody cares that President Joe Biden called half the country "garbage."

The Harris campaign is scrambling to contain the damage, but the problem is that Joe Biden just said the not-so-quiet part out loud. Democrats have been calling Republicans Nazis so often that the accusation has lost its sting. It is almost background noise, as you can see in the polls. Democrats spent a week trying to drive home the point using General Mattis' comments, and Trump's numbers are up. Not because people think he is a Nazi, but because the accusation has lost its oomph. 

The residual, though, is that Republicans got the message loud and clear: Democrats and the elite HATE HATE HATE us, and now the "garbage" comment resonates because it is a new way of saying an old thing, and reminds swing voters about just who really is divisive. 

Walz denies that Biden’s ‘garbage’ comments undermine Harris’ unity message: When confronted by CBS News over President Biden's "garbage" comments, Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., insisted they don't undermine the Harris camp's message of "unity." https://t.co/QCjw9HMBN2 #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/ziKSWVfrI4

— ZBreakingNewz (@ZBreakingNewz) October 30, 2024

As expected, Josh Shapiro gave a straightforward and much better answer than Walz. But he is a Jew, and hence left off the ticket.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro DISTANCES himself from Biden-Harris administration.

“I would never insult the good people of Pennsylvania or any Americans, even if they chose to support a candidate that I didn’t.”pic.twitter.com/mpWEQyhCi7

— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) October 30, 2024

If this were a singular example, the "grammar" argument might fly; the problem is that we had "bitter clingers," "deplorables," "fascists" and grandma killers, and now "garbage."

It doesn't fit with the whole BS "unity" thing. 

Kamala Harris just said she "won't lose a single voter" after Biden called millions of Trump supporters "garbage" pic.twitter.com/BrufYIInNV

— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) October 30, 2024

Kamala Harris has answered questions about this twice, and given rather wishy-washy answers. Instead of just saying NO!, Trump voters are not garbage, she minces words about not attacking people for who they vote for. That is hardly the same thing. She could have said that Trump voters are patriotic Americans who want what is best for the country, but we just happen to disagree. Instead she left the door open: don't hate Trump voters because of how they filled out an oval; hate them for being deplorable Nazis. 

The Iron Law of Woke Projection is sound. https://t.co/uRSUcsHb3e

— Zachary Tisdale 🇨🇦 (@ztisdale) October 30, 2024

Bad answer in my book. She could have strongly denounced the sentiment while making a rather halfhearted defense of Joe Biden's heart being the right place or something. 

Kamala once again defends Biden calling Trump supporters "garbage": "I think that the president has explained what he meant."

Yesterday, Kamala refused to disavow her running mate comparing Trump supporters to Nazis.

She's a sick person. pic.twitter.com/N2AW1LwOER

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 30, 2024

Kamala's mistake in not STOMPING on this story by embracing Trump voters--not Trump, but Trump voters--is huge. Saying she wants their vote is a statement of the obvious. Saying that she doesn't want them hating her and the Democrats is similarly obvious. But everybody knows she is a radical at heart, even if they don't want to think about it because, well, but...Trump! The Biden comment and her waffling make her look evasive. 

Kamala Harris DEFENDED Biden after he called 75 plus million voters “garbage,” but doesn’t have a problem with it because he “clarified his comments.”

Just last week, she was comparing Trump supporters at MSG to Nazis.

This is NOT what unifying America looks like. pic.twitter.com/UTmBoUCuhW

— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellUSA) October 30, 2024

Frank Luntz is almost certainly correct: this will hit Kamala where it hurts. Instead of the Nazi accusations being in the background, they will take on new significance. 

“One of the signs of old age and loss of acuity is that you lose your filter and get pretty blunt,” says @danturrentine of President Biden calling Trump voters “garbage.” The comment “plays to the stereotype that Democrats are patronizing and condescending. And I think it’s what… pic.twitter.com/kPPHLTsFow

— 2WAY (@2waytvapp) October 30, 2024

"Hey, they really mean that! My uncle or father is voting for Trump, and he isn't garbage." Democrats get in people's faces all the time, and this will remind moderates that much of the division is Democrats attacking Republicans. 

FRANK LUNTZ: Joe Biden might've cost Kamala Harris the election.pic.twitter.com/FugU1I2klb

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 30, 2024

No once incident seals the deal. We all thought that Trump's "grab 'em by the..." comment would destroy his chance to be president. 

It didn't. But it did hurt him and continues to do so today. Many women have a visceral dislike of Trump rooted in that one incident. He survived it, but it hurt. 

Vice Pres. Kamala Harris continues to distance herself from Pres. Biden's comments appearing to refer to former Pres. Trump's supporters as "garbage," a reference to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's word choice at Trump's MSG event. https://t.co/L3KdTl4UGm pic.twitter.com/SCxZfRVy1M

— ABC News (@ABC) October 30, 2024

(Notice how they called Biden the "ex-president.)

BRETT FAVRE: “I want to address the comment that Joe Biden made yesterday that said the supporters of Donald Trump are garbage.. How dare he say that. Looking out I see police officers, teachers, nurses, grandparents, students.. everyday Americans that make this country great” pic.twitter.com/bywdbKLHWA

— America (@america) October 30, 2024

This, too, will hurt Kamala, and she doesn't have a lot of time to recover. I doubt she will, but I have been wrong before. 

Scott Jennings: "Biden, Harris, the Democrat Party, and most of their campaign do believe that half the country is garbage. They've also said people who go to Trump rallies are Nazis so it's pretty apparent the disdain with which they hold half the country." pic.twitter.com/2uFYPPfK5k

— Real Mac Report (@RealMacReport) October 30, 2024