The unilateral change was “a breach of protocol,” the head of the stenographer’s office has reportedly complained
The White House Press Office has altered the transcript of a remark by President Joe Biden in which he appeared to call supporters of Republican candidate Donald Trump “garbage,” the Associated Press reported on Friday.
Biden was denouncing a joke made last week at a Trump rally by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who called the US territory of Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” drawing accusations of racism from Democrats.
According to the initial transcript produced by the stenographer’s office and quoted by the news agency, Biden told a Latino group: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters – his – his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
However, the version released to the public uses the possessive “supporter’s” rather than the plural “supporters” – meaning it would refer to Hinchcliffe personally. In a later statement, Biden maintained that was the meaning of his words.
According to the AP, the change was made by the Press Office as it scrambled to deal with the uproar caused by Biden’s comment. Trump capitalized on the gaffe on Wednesday by riding a garbage truck adorned with his campaign logo at an event in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris distanced herself from Biden, saying she strongly disagreed “with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”
AP quoted an internal email sent to the Press Office by the head of the White House stenographers complaining about the “breach of protocol and spoliation of transcript integrity” caused by the unilateral change, which the message claimed the press service made after conferring with the president.
“If there is a difference in interpretation, the Press Office may choose to withhold the transcript but cannot edit it independently,” the email said.
The official reportedly noted that now there is an inconsistency between the transcript that the National Archives received and what the Press Office released to the general public.
Republican Representatives Elise Stefanik and James Comer have urged an investigation of the incident. In a letter to White House Counsel Edward Siskel sent on Wednesday, they accused the White House of releasing a “false transcript” of Biden’s words, arguing that it may have been a violation of the Presidential Records Act of 1978.
“White House staff cannot rewrite the words of the President of the United States to be more politically on message,” the message said.
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