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The cardinal rule surely is – say what you like about the candidate but don’t be seen to insult those who chose to vote for that candidate.

Hillary Clinton learned that lesson in 2016 when she dismissed Donald Trump supporters as a “basket of deplorables”.

She had sought, with remarkable clumsiness, to place Trump supporters into “baskets” – those she thought she could win over, and the “deplorables”.

Well, we all know how that went for her.

The question now is whether President Biden has fumbled his way into a “deplorables redux” moment, but worse. Not “deplorables” but “garbage”.

Reacting to the comments by a comedian speaking at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, Mr Biden said: “A speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage…”

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Biden accused of calling Trump supporters ‘garbage’

“Well, let me tell you something… They’re good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters… his… his demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”

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As you might expect, a week out from Election Day, it’s caused something of a stir.

The White House has initiated damage limitation mode claiming the president was talking about the comedian who made the derogatory comments and not Trump’s supporters in general.

Their explanation is in the grammar – that Biden said: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s… his… his demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable…”

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Some might say the apostrophe in “supporter’s” is doing some heavy lifting. And so a statement on X from the president sought to clear up the spiralling controversy.

“Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage – which is the only word I can think of to describe it. His demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation,” the statement on the president’s X account said.

People will make up their own minds and Team Trump is certainly running with it.

His co-campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, quoted Biden on X and said: “Remember @KamalaHarris hates you and they hate the American spirit vote accordingly.”

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Trump’s fiery advisor Stephen Miller, whose own language and rhetoric is deeply controversial, went further: “And with that monstrous ugly venomous disgusting despicable personal attack on 150 million Americans, Joe Biden just ended Kamala’s campaign/hate movement.”

Within a few hours, it was spiralling further.

The Trump campaign rushed out campaign fundraising emails making hay from the apparent gaff.

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What was Kamala Harris’ closing argument?

“You are not garbage! I love you! You are the best our nation has to offer,” an email from Mr Trump to supporters said.

Reporters from Axios asked the White House how they knew President Biden meant “supporter’s” not “supporters”. Had they spoken to Mr Biden to ask him what he meant?

The spokesperson asked to go off the record to give a fuller explanation. Axios declined. The White House didn’t comment further.

Remember early voting is ongoing now across swathes of America – millions are voting right now.

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There is just a week to go until all this is over.

A comment like this, even if clumsy and misconstrued, is not what the Harris campaign needs – especially coming, as it did, just as she finished her end-of-campaign speech in Washington DC.

In a campaign where so many are locked in, will it move the dial? The Democrats’ immediate damage limitation and the Republicans’ glee certainly suggest they both think it could.

It’s a head-in-hands moment for Kamala Harris, no question.

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Looting and violence breaks out after Los Angeles Dodgers win baseball’s World Series

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Looting and violence breaks out after Los Angeles Dodgers win baseball's World Series

The Los Angeles Dodgers have won baseball’s World Series for the second time in five years but the celebrations were marred by looting and violence.

The Dodgers took the title by beating the New York Yankees 4-1 in the best-of-seven final in New York on Wednesday night, US time.

But soon after the match ended and jubilant Dodgers fans spilled on to the streets to celebrate, there were reports of a bus being set on fire, shops being looted and fireworks thrown at police in scenes of “absolute chaos” in downtown LA.

Los Angeles Dodgers players pose for a photo during a ceremony in the small hours of Oct. 31, 2024, after clinching the MLB World Series with a 7-6 win over the New York Yankees in Game 5 at Yankee Stadium in New York. (Kyodo via AP Images) ==Kyodo
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Los Angeles Dodgers players celebrate winning baseball’s World Series. Pic: AP

At around 10.45pm, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said it received reports of “looting at several stores in the area of 8th and Broadway”.

Ordering people to “leave the area immediately” on X, the force reposted a video of looters raiding a Nike store where a door had been removed so thieves could get in.

A Dodgers fan celebrates on the street after the Los Angeles Dodgers' victory over the New York Yankees to win the World Series in Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 30, 2024. REUTERS/Daniel Cole     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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A Dodgers fan celebrates in Los Angeles. Pic: Reuters

Several dispersal orders were issued for different locations in the city, including in streets close to the Dodger Stadium in the Elysian Park area.

A bus was set on fire as part of the disorder.

Eyewitness and LA resident Taylor Rosa, 27, told Sky’s US partner network NBC News it was “absolute chaos”, as people “got out of control and started looting and jumping on top of a bus”.

Among the comments on Instagram were “damn embarrassment” and “they act like the Dodgers lost”.

Multiple arrests were made throughout the night in Echo Park and the downtown area, according to the Los Angeles Scanner account on X.

The LAPD later spoke of a “hostile crowd” and that “various projectiles”, including rocks and bottles, were being thrown at officers.

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Meanwhile, two Yankees fans missed the end of the series after they were banned for interfering with play during the fourth match, the New York team’s only win.

They grappled with the Dodgers’s Mookie Betts as he tried to catch a shot by the fence at the Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night.

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As Betts leapt at the wall and caught the ball, one fan grabbed his glove with both hands and wrenched the ball out, as another grabbed Betts’s other hand.

They were thrown out of the game and banned from the next one.

Los Angeles Dodgers players celebrate after clinching the MLB World Series with a 7-6 win over the New York Yankees in Game 5 on Oct. 30, 2024, at Yankee Stadium in New York. (Kyodo via AP Images) ==Kyodo
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The Dodgers beat the Yankees 7-6 in game five. Pic: AP

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani celebrates in the locker room after their win against the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the baseball World Series, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
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Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani with the trophy. Pic: AP

The last time the Dodgers won the title, in 2020, the season was shortened by the COVID pandemic, which prevented them from staging a victory parade.

This year’s parade is to take place on Friday.

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US election: Elon Musk summoned to court over $1m giveaways to registered voters

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US election: Elon Musk summoned to court over m giveaways to registered voters

Elon Musk has been summoned to an emergency court hearing on Thursday over the $1m prizes he has been awarding registered voters in swing states.

The Tesla and X chief executive has been ordered by a judge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to address a civil case by the city’s top prosecutor to stop Mr Musk and his political action committee, America PAC, from giving the cash away.

The suit accuses Mr Musk of operating an illegal lottery and trying to influence voters in next week’s presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Mr Musk and his PAC are backing Mr Trump, the Republican nominee.

US election latest: Trump speaks from garbage truck

The controversial billionaire promised to give $1m (£772,000) each day to resgistered voters in swing states who have signed his online free speech and gun rights petition.

The first $1m was awarded to a man named John Dreher during a campaign event in Pennsylvania on 19 October.

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Both Mr Trump and Ms Harris have made repeated visits to the state as they fight for its 19 electoral votes.

Mr Musk is the world’s richest person and is worth $274bn (£210bn), according to Forbes, so the approximate $17m (£13m) he’s vowed to give away is a tiny fraction of his wealth.

The 53-year-old had donated $75m (£58m) to American PAC in the period up to mid-October.

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Documents filed by Philadelphia’s district attorney Larry Krasner also revealed that the lawsuit against Mr Musk had “triggered an avalanche of [social media] posts from Musk’s followers,” many of whom “made antisemitic attacks on Krasner”.

The attorney asked for enhanced security for the hearing, which was originally scheduled for Friday, after users on X had published Mr Krasner’s home address.

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‘Tell him I’ll register, $1 million!’

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America PAC is one of several major political action committees in the US.

Such groups can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money in support of political candidates, on the condition that they do not coordinate with their campaigns or give money to them.

Mr Trump has said he will give Mr Musk a government job if he becomes president again.

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US election: People’s back pockets are pushing them to the polls in this knife-edge state

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US election: People's back pockets are pushing them to the polls in this knife-edge state

“It’s the economy, stupid”. It was back in 1992 when political strategist James Carville coined a phrase that feels to me to be wholly apt again right now.

It was by focusing on the state of the economy that Carville helped Bill Clinton beat George H.W. Bush 22 years ago.

For headscratchers today wondering why a man so divisive and with so much baggage as Donald Trump could be within a whisker of the White House, it may be that the answer, again, is: “It’s the economy, stupid.”

In suburban North Carolina it doesn’t take long to realise just how much people’s back pockets are pushing them to the polling booth.

Kannapolis is America’s suburbia. It’s middle class, leafy and the polls suggest it’s on a knife edge now, just as it was four years ago.

Political strategist James Carville coined the phrase, 'It's the economy, stupid' back in 1992 Pic: Reuters
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James Carville coined the phrase, ‘It’s the economy, stupid’ back in 1992 Pic: Reuters

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Back in 2020, Donald Trump won this town’s district by just nine votes. With small gains like this across the state, the former president won North Carolina by a whisker – 1.3%.

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You need to go back to Obama in 2008 for the last time the Democrats won this state, then by 14,000 votes. Before that Republicans won here every cycle since 1980.

When Biden was the Democratic Party candidate, the state looked like a lost cause for the Democrats. But replacing him with Kamala Harris flipped the polls. Suddenly it was a state in play. She cut Donald Trump’s sizable lead to neck-and-neck and it remained there.

Shifting demographics, a large African-American community, a growing urban and suburban population all give Democratic Party strategists hope that it’s within reach again. With its sizable 16 electoral college votes, a win here really helps propel either candidate to the 270 needed for victory nationally.

Is Biden’s ‘garbage’ comment another Clinton ‘deplorables’ moment? Depends where the apostrophe is

Cabarrus County is precisely the sort of place that the Republicans need to hold and the Democrats need to swing. I’ve come to the town of Kannapolis.

The train station here, linking it with the metropolis of Charlotte 30 minutes away, is doubling as the polling station and the queue to vote early is an hour long.

All who spoke to us were passionate, thoughtful and reflected the national split that runs down to within families.

But of the issues driving the decisions, one thing dominates almost always: the economy. Inflation is now down, unemployment is down. In many ways the US economy is the envy of the world. But the perception of things and nostalgia for the past runs deep.

On one street in this one town, we spoke to a range of voters in three businesses – a local entrepreneur, a waiter, a restaurant manager, a shop owner and a customer. All three businesses we visited were chosen at random and we’ve included every person we spoke to.

Rylee Mullery, babysitting between jobs

Rylee Mullery

“I would say income taxes and the open border is definitely the biggest issue for me personally. And I feel like it’s just gone downhill since then. So I hope that we can get that fixed by getting the right person in office.

“I went to the store the other day and got a full cart. Usually that costs $150 (£116). It was almost $400 (£309) for a full cart of just regular household needs from toilet paper to laundry detergent, paper towels, things like that. So I hope that that can be solved.

“I’m only 23 years old and it’s nice to know that people my age are finally waking up and seeing what’s actually good for our country.”

William Pasquale, waiter

William Pasquale

“Right now everything is just too expensive for even basic needs. For families of four it’s too expensive. They can’t afford groceries right now. Some can’t even afford gas and that’s the way people get around. All these unemployment rates are way higher than they were before and it’s just getting worse and worse.”

Deana Ross, restaurant manager

Deana Ross

“In the beginning…. nobody wanted to admit that they were liking him [Trump]… because he is a bit rough around the edges… but he knew what he was doing. And I think this time around, now that we’ve had that four year gap without him and they’ve seen what happened, the scales tipped a little.

Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, maybe he wasn’t that bad’. So I feel like everybody’s changing their mind and their opinion about what kind of a president he is, as opposed to what kind of a person he is.

“The Biden administration really dropped the ball for the country and what’s best for our country. And I feel like Donald Trump might try to improve that like he was trying before.”

Dwayne Jackson, popcorn shop owner

Dwayne Jackson

“A lot of people are basing their opinion on gimmicks. So if you’re focusing on the gimmicks and you’re not focusing on what the person’s actually saying, then you’re going to go according to the gimmicks.

“If somebody is running around here with 34 felonies, 34 plus felonies, and they’re still allowed to run for the presidency of the United States, where as if I was to go out here and commit one felony and get convicted of one felony, I could never vote again.

“I don’t like, you know, the name calling because you’re not teaching the children anything. When the kids look at this, we teach our children nothing.”

David Deal, local entrepreneur

David Deal

“The pledge by both sides to scrap tax on tips is a huge issue for us. It saves us as business owners taxes and their payroll portion. And obviously them not being taxed would be fantastic. That would give them a raise and give us a little breathing room as well. Margins are tighter as inflation is pushed, the typical consumer’s daily expenses are up, even exponentially.

“There’s always advantages to both sides. I consider myself fiscally conservative. I’m a small business owner. How business principles and laws are applied mean a lot to me and whether I’m able to put a roof over my head as a business owner.

“But on the flip side a lot of times those [conservative] politics are aligned with certain groups that are less socially liberal. I consider myself fiscally conservative, socially liberal – people should do what makes them happy. A conundrum? Certainly.”

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