Kamala Harris said she disagrees "with any criticism of people based on who they vote for," reacting after President Joe Biden's reference to Donald Trump's supporters and "garbage."
"I will represent all Americans, including those who don't vote for me," the vice president said.
Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, made the comment to reporters as she prepared to campaign in three states. Her words were an attempt to blunt the controversy over Biden's rhetoric with less than a week until the end of the campaign.
The tumult began Tuesday night around the time that Harris was delivering a unifying message in a speech near the White House. Inside the building, Biden was criticizing Trump's recent Madison Square Garden rally, where a comedian described Puerto Rico as an "island of garbage."
"The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American," Biden said in a campaign call organized by the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino. "It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been."
