Washington, 30 October 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Donald Trump's supporters are seizing on comments made by US President Joe Biden, whom they say called them "garbage," while Biden said he was referring to the demonization of Puerto Ricans.

The controversy on Tuesday comes days before the November 5 presidential election in which Biden's Vice President Kamala Harris faces Trump.

In the conversation, a transcript of which the White House released, Biden referred of a comedian at a Trump rally who called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage."

Biden said: "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter's — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American. It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been," according to the transcript.

Trump's camp quoted Biden as saying: "The only trash I see floating around are his supporters," though the official transcript shows the sentence extending further. Biden reportedly was referring not to the supporters but to the demonization of Latinos as trash.