While Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have been calling for unity among the parties and a “new generation of leadership in America,” former president Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance have spent Election Eve spreading the same hateful and violent rhetoric they' ve done throughout Trump's campaign.
When in Atlanta on Monday evening, the Republican vice presidential candidate told the crowd, “In two days, we are going to take out the trash in Washington, DC, and the trash's name is Kamala Harris.”
Vance remarks are part of a concerted effort by Trump and his allies to draw attention away from the racist insults made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally earlier this month. During the MSG event, Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage,” leading to widespread backlash from prominent leaders in the Puerto Rican community.
The Trump campaign has since been capitalizing on a comment by President Joe Biden, prompting Republicans to accuse the president of calling Trump supporters “garbage.” The White House, in a statement, disputed the claims and released a full transcript of the comment showing an apostrophe with “supporter's,” indicating that Biden had referred to Hinchcliffe's “demonization of Latinos” as “garbage.” However, the Associated Press later said that White House press officials altered the official transcript.
Last week, Trump attempted to seize on Biden's remarks by bizarrely dressing up as a garbage truck driver and climbing into the passenger seat of a garbage truck.
Elsewhere on Monday, during a rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, Trump — who has repeatedly objectified women, spread misogynistic rhetoric, and was found liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll — ramped up his violent speech against women and suggested Harris get in the ring with boxer Mike Tyson.
“Put Mike in the ring with Kamala. That will be interesting,” Trump told his crowd of supporters.
Earlier today, when speaking to a crowd in North Carolina, Trump said that Michelle Obama “hit” him and that he asked his advisers if he was allowed to “hit her now.”
“I'd actually love to hit back,” he continued. “But we'll hold it a little while.”