Joe Biden handed Trump a big win this week when he called Trump supporters garbage.

"And just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a 'floating island of garbage.' Well, let me tell you something," Biden said on the call. "I don’t — I – I — I don’t know the Puerto Rican that — that I know — or a Puerto Rico, where I’m from — in my home state of Delaware, they’re good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters."

The White House quickly jumped in to clean up the mess he made. And boy did he create a mess. Using Google Trends, it was actually possible to see how quickly and dramatically interest in Biden's comments eclipsed the Democrats' exploitation of Tony Hinchcliffe's joke at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally.

There may be some debate as to whether Biden's ruining Kamala's big speech was deliberate or not, but there's no doubt that it did.

While covering Trump’s rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, CNN’s Kristen Holmes admitted, “There is somewhat of a gift that this was given to the Donald Trump campaign,” referring to Biden’s controversial comments. 

After three days of coverage focusing on Tony Hinchcliffe's joke before Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, Trump’s team saw this as a perfect opportunity to turn the spotlight back on Biden.

Holmes describes the Trump campaign as exploiting the opportunity to change the narrative, and she clearly wasn’t happy about it because it worked.

Related: Now You Can REALLY See How Badly Biden Screwed Kamala Over With His 'Garbage' Comment

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer summed up the scene of Trump seated in a garbage truck in Green Bay, Wisconsin, tackling the latest insult from Joe Biden that Trump said reveals the true attitude of the current administration toward average Americans.

According to Holmes, Trump’s team is working hard to “milk this for every single drop that they can.” Holmes went on to note that Trump’s strategy echoes his 2016 response to Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment, which galvanized his supporters in that election.

Holmes added that Trump’s pushback on Biden’s “garbage” comments comes at a crucial time, as he faces scrutiny over perceived issues with Puerto Rican voters. “I cannot stress enough,” Holmes said, “how we have spent the last year” highlighting how Puerto Ricans have called on Trump to issue apologies over past remarks, which he has refused to do.

Now, Trump is “trying to change the narrative,” Holmes emphasized, “and he is trying to latch on to these garbage comments to try to drive people out to polling places.”

CNN reporter is mad that Trump got in a garbage truck because he is "changing the narrative" pic.twitter.com/CKgSkSFct3

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 30, 2024

It’s clear the media doesn’t appreciate Trump’s maneuvering because they know it will be effective in rallying Trump's base. I can't say whether Hillary's "deplorables" comment is what cost her the election, but I think we can all agree it didn't help. Tony Hinchcliffe is a comedian; Joe Biden plays the president of the United States on television and was the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee for the bulk of this campaign. His words actually matter.

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