Biden, who has become a burden on Harris' campaign

Photo: Ting Shen Agence France-Presse Kamala Harris is now keeping Joe Biden as far away from her campaign as possible.

Sébastien Blanc – Agence France-Presse in Washington

Published at 12:59

• United States

By calling Donald Trump’s supporters “garbage,” Joe Biden didn’t just make another blunder. He confirmed that he is a liability for Kamala Harris, who is now keeping him as far away from her campaign as possible.

The octogenarian president made this blunder on Tuesday, in a video call during which he criticized the comments, denounced as racist, of a comedian. He had compared Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage” during a Donald Trump rally on Sunday.

“The only garbage I see floating around here is his supporters,” Joe Biden said, sparking consternation in the Democratic camp.

The White House and the unpopular president himself quickly backtracked, saying that only the comedian’s “obnoxious rhetoric” was targeted, not Donald Trump’s supporters.

But the damage was done, and Republicans wasted no time in exploiting the blunder.

Apologies demanded

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris hate America,” said Karoline Leavitt, the Republican candidate's spokeswoman. “Kamala must answer for this shameful attack on tens of millions of Americans.”

“It's a terrible thing to say,” insisted Donald Trump, at a rally in Pennsylvania. At the same rally, Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican leader, demanded an apology from Joe Biden. “We are not trash. “We are patriots who love America,” he said.

The day after an iconic evening that saw her gather tens of thousands of activists in Washington, Kamala Harris found herself on Wednesday having to limit the damage caused.

“I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” she said.

In the Democratic camp, everyone remembers the resounding error made by Hillary Clinton, during a fundraising evening in September 2016 in New York. She had estimated that half of Donald Trump's supporters were “pathetic” people.

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Despite the public regrets of the Democratic candidate, this contemptuous expression had been proudly repeated over and over again by Trump supporters, the billionaire even making a television ad for it.

And, when it came time to take stock of Hillary Clinton's defeat, the impact of the insult had been deemed significant.

Last week, Joe Biden gave Democrats another cold sweat, declaring, again about Donald Trump: “We have to lock him up.” He then corrected the shot, saying he had meant to say “lock him up politically.”

Could his latest gaffe work against Kamala Harris come voting time? ? “It’s possible. “It's so close that anything can count,” John Hansen, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, told AFP.

Beyoncé, not Biden

Having replaced Joe Biden in the race for the White House in July, Kamala Harris initially positioned her candidacy in the president's footsteps, saying she would stand by his program and record.

But in recent weeks she has understood her interest in promising a change of direction for the executive branch, if she is elected, and in distancing herself from the leader worn out by the years.

In recent days, the vice president has also carefully chosen the people who have joined her on her campaign platforms. Among a host of stars, she was able to count on Beyoncé, a global pop star, and Bruce Springsteen, a rock legend. Or Barack Obama and especially his wife Michelle, a political phenomenon.

“Harris obviously has to avoid appearing together with Biden until after the election. Biden is pretty unpopular, he's rusty and he's lost his touch,” political science professor Larry Sabato summed up to AFP.