Trump’s “Garbage Truck” Stunt Backfires, Fuels Outrage in Puerto Rican Community
In a move meant to troll President Joe Biden, Donald Trump’s campaign stop in Green Bay, Wisconsin, quickly spiraled into an unexpected backlash. Donning a bright orange safety vest, Trump climbed into a garbage truck emblazoned with his campaign logo. The former president leaned out of the truck’s window, mimicking his familiar McDonald’s photo-op, and asked the press, “How do you like my garbage truck?”
The event was intended to spotlight a verbal slip Biden made on Tuesday, which Trump claimed referred to his supporters as “garbage.” But by referencing recent offensive remarks made about Puerto Rico at his Madison Square Garden rally, Trump reignited outrage. During that rally, a comedian had disparagingly called the U.S. territory “a floating island of garbage,” comments which drew backlash from prominent Puerto Rican figures and led reggaeton artist Nicky Jam to rescind his support for Trump, stating, “Puerto Rico deserves respect.”
The situation escalated as Trump dismissed any responsibility, claiming no knowledge of the comedian and denying any association with the offensive comments. Yet, his choice to address the scandal from a garbage truck stirred a storm of criticism. Prominent voices, including former Trump aide Alyssa Farah Griffin and editor Ron Filipkowski, called the stunt a “total fail.” Griffin highlighted the tone-deaf optics, tweeting, “Let’s remind everyone we offended Puerto Ricans & called America garbage by driving a garbage truck!”
Trump’s team seemingly missed the mark in appealing to voters by doubling down on an incident already resonating negatively across the Puerto Rican community and beyond. And as the stunt dominates headlines, Democratic campaign strategists, including Harris spokesperson Sarafina Chitika, are capitalizing on it, framing the incident as yet another reminder of the candidate’s fraught history with Puerto Rico.
