The White House communications team is facing increasing scrutiny for editing an official transcript to make it appear President Joe Biden did not use the term “garbage” to describe supporters of President Donald J. Trump. Notably, Representatives James Comer (R-KY) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) believe the White House may have violated the Presidential Records Act in editing the transcript—potentially a federal crime.
Late Tuesday evening, the 81-year-old Democrat referred to Trump supporters as “garbage” during a Kamala Harris campaign web call with the far-left Voto Latino group. The remarks were promptly aired on CNN, drawing almost immediate backlash and a confused response from the White House—including what appears to be two different transcripts.
The controversy centers on an apostrophe the White House communications team added to “supporters” in Biden’s remarks. The simple grammatical marking changes the entire context of what Biden clearly said in the video. In the video, Biden clearly states: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His, his, his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable.”
In the immediate aftermath of the scandal, the White House communications staff refused to go on the record about whether they spoke with Biden after the remarks or how they knew what he intended to say, sowing further confusion.
Across social media, the reaction from Republican strategists and Trump supporters was swift. Consultant and GOP strategist Matt Whitlock accused the administration of “flat-out lying” in the altered transcript.
Additionally, Reps. Comer and Stefanik’s letter to White House Counsel Edward Siskel notes he should “retain and preserve all documents and internal communications related to President Biden’s statement and the release of the inaccurate transcript.”
Sometimes the Democrat elite tell us what they really think of us. Hillary Clinton thinks we are “deplorables”. Joe Biden thinks we are “garbage.” Kamala Harris thinks we are so stupid as to believe her lies.
We deserve better. Vote Trump pic.twitter.com/cwEBnGSbLj
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) October 30, 2024