WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden was clearly trying to restrain himself. “Don’t go, Joe. Slow down,” he advised himself during a speech criticizing Republican Donald Trump.

It was Tuesday afternoon. But by evening, Biden had not followed his own advice, and now his offhand remark on a Zoom campaign call has created a new headache. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris Election Day is less than a week away.

This isn’t the first time Biden has gone off script and caused trouble. But the latest incident proved particularly distracting, just as Harris was trying to deliver a high-profile “closing argument” for her campaign that emphasized the need to unite the country after Trump’s divisiveness.

Shortly before Harris was about to speak Tuesday night After a large rally crowd on a lawn not far from the White House, Biden met with a Hispanic advocacy group and commented: a comic book recent insults Trump rally He referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”

Biden said: “The only garbage I see floating around is his supporters.”

The president immediately sent out a social media post to clarify his remarks about Trump. “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable,” Biden said. “That’s all I wanted to say.”

But his sharp words were quickly noted by Republicans who said he was smearing Trump supporters.

Biden, who withdrew from the presidential race in July after a disastrous debate performance and a near-riot within his own party, has largely remained absent from the campaign trail since then. But he is determined to maintain his relevance and cement his legacy, and has stepped up his political activities in recent days. even though many in his party seem to stay away from him.

Harris, however, is trying to differentiate herself from her unpopular boss. And he’s actively courting Republican voters.

Biden’s words sparked action Harris will say on Tuesday He said he strongly opposed “any criticism based on who people voted for.”

Aides were already frustrated by another Biden gaffe last week, when he told Democratic campaign staffers in New Hampshire, “We should lock him up,” while speaking about Trump.

He quickly regained his composure and added: “Put him in jail politically. Keep him out. This is what we have to do.”

Harris supporters often chant “Lock her up” at her rallies. Trump has many criminal cases pending but it’s also a reference to his 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton, in which his supporters shouted “lock her up.”

Always silencing the chant, Harris tells the crowd: “The courts will deal with this. “We will look at November.”

Biden also stepped into events from time to time. Harris made a surprise speech to reporters in the White House briefing room as she was about to take the stage in Michigan. and spoke from the Oval Office Open Hurricane HeleneHarris set aside campaign events in Las Vegas to return to Washington for a briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

He also made a mistake about who would run for president.

“We have a lot of work to do, Kamala and I — Kamala — Kamala has work to do,” Biden said last weekend.

In Baltimore on Tuesday, Biden began criticizing Trump while hosting an infrastructure event at the port, glancingly bringing up comments Puerto Rico made at the rally.

He noted new funds to “modernize ports in 27 different states and territories from Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and beyond — yes, including Puerto Rico.”

He later said of Trump: “I’d like to take that guy swimming there.”