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US election updates: Musk fails to appear in court over donating millions of dollars to US voters

US election updates: Musk fails to appear in court over donating millions of dollars to US voters

analysis

Take a closer look at “garbage”.published at 1:27 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on October 30th

Anthony Zuercher
BBC North America correspondent

In sports, “garbage time” refers to the final moments of a game, when the teams are still playing but the winner has been determined.

The final days of this presidential election campaign, the outcome of which is still very much in doubt, are redefining the term.

Joe Biden’s “garbage” gaffe, which followed a political firestorm when a comedian called Puerto Rico an “island of trash” at a Donald Trump rally, has given Republicans an opportunity to change the political conversation and Democrats in to show the barriers defensively.

The political effectiveness of this garbage exchange lies in part in the fact that it appears to confirm what many in each party think about their opponents – with Democrats believing that Trump’s side demeans ethnic minorities, while Republicans believe that the left’s supporters of the former president as worthless.

Biden has a history of verbal stumbles, the growing number of which was one of the reasons the party pressured him to abandon his re-election bid.

In recent weeks, Biden’s usefulness as a political advocate has been a concern for the Harris team, as they have reportedly been reluctant to offer him high-profile campaign events despite his desire to take the stage.

This should settle this debate — and give Democrats another reason to be thankful they switched to Harris in July.

The Democratic faithful will be quick to point out all the derisive comments Trump has made at his rallies and in interviews, such as when he called America “the garbage can of the world” last Friday. But in the final week of the campaign, and with the margins between the two candidates seemingly so slim, even small policy twists can become a deafening clamor.