Donald Trump climbed into a garbage truck Wednesday wearing a bright orange safety vest. For those who don’t follow election news closely, it might beg the question: Why?
Trump’s truck, emblazoned with his name and campaign slogan, appeared at a Wisconsin airport ahead of his scheduled battleground rally later that day.
“How do you like my garbage truck?” Trump told reporters as he leaned out of the passenger-side window. “This truck is in honor of Kamala. [Harris] And Joe Biden.”
Here’s a look at what happened and how we got here:
Puerto Rico ‘garbage’ joke at Trump rally
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe faced widespread criticism after jokingly calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden on October 27.
“I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” he told the New York City crowd.
Famous Puerto Ricans, including rapper Bad Bunny and singer and actor Ricky Martin, later endorsed Kamala Harris for her tens of millions of followers on social media.
Joe Biden ‘rubbish’ comment
Two days later, President Biden found himself in hot water over his own “garbage” remarks.
Asked about Hinchcliffe’s joke during an Oct. 29 Zoom call with the Voto Latino nonprofit, Biden was quoted by the media as saying: “All I see is garbage floating around from his supporters. “
Several major news outlets, including CNN, reported the comments as a mockery of Trump supporters, with many Republican figures expressing outrage.
The president denied that he was referring to Trump supporters. Instead, the White House said Biden was referring to Hinchcliffe’s joke about Puerto Rico.
The controversy centered on where the obituary fell.
The White House released a transcript of the Zoom call showing that Biden used the term “supporters” in reference to Hincliffe’s joke, rather than Trump supporters in general.
“The only thing I see out there is trashing a supporter of his — his — his demonization of Latinos is illogical, and it’s un-American,” the transcript reads.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said this Newsweek Biden was referring to the “hateful rhetoric coming out of the Madison Square Garden rally,” not Trump supporters.
Harris also distanced himself from the apparent attack on Biden, telling reporters: “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people who they vote for.”
Donald Trump driving a garbage truck?
Trump has tried to capitalize on Biden’s comments, and he has made light of Hinchcliffe’s joke at his rally.
Sitting in a garbage truck at an airport in Wisconsin, Trump likened Biden’s “garbage” comments to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 “basket of deplorables” remarks about Trump supporters, which the then-Democratic candidate was accused of damaging the campaign.
“It’s sad for Hillary, and I think it’s actually worse,” Trump said from the truck on Wednesday. “It’s really a disgrace for Joe Biden to make that statement.”
Later, Trump spoke at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, saying he had driven “about two feet” into the garbage truck before getting into another vehicle. He appeared at the rally wearing the same orange safety jacket he wore in the garbage truck.
There is no indication that Trump ever drove the truck himself. Under Wisconsin state law, a person must have a valid commercial driver’s license to drive a garbage truck or a vehicle weighing more than 26,000 pounds.
Trump has a regular driver’s license. A copy of his New York license, obtained by Politico through an open records request in 2016, showed that he needed to renew it in 2020.