An internal email obtained by The Associated Press news agency has revealed there was an internal disagreement at the White House over whom United States President Joe Biden referred to as “garbage” earlier this week.
On Thursday, The Associated Press reported that it had obtained an email that showed White House officials altered the official transcript of a livestreamed video call in which Biden appeared to take a swipe at supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Two administration sources also confirmed to The Associated Press that the changes to the transcript drew objections from the federal workers who document such remarks for posterity.
Earlier this week, Biden, 81, created uproar days before Election Day with his remarks on a video call with the nonprofit Voto Latino.
Fumbling with his words, Biden attempted to address the racist comments at a Trump rally made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who referred to the US island territory of Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage”.
According to the transcript prepared by official White House stenographers, Biden said: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters – his – his demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
But the version released by the White House press office changed the comment by adding an apostrophe, having it read “supporter’s” rather than “supporters”.
That, in turn, made it appear as if Biden was referring specifically to the comedian Hinchcliffe and not Trump supporters at large.
Stenographers objected
The Associated Press said it obtained an internal email from the head of the stenographers’ office that showed the changes were made after the press office “conferred with the President”.
The authenticity of the email was confirmed by the two government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the news agency said.
The stenographers’ office is charged with preparing accurate transcripts of the public and private remarks made by the president for preservation by the National Archives and distribution to the public.
In the email, the head of the stenographers’ office called the unsanctioned changes “a breach of protocol and spoliation of transcript integrity between the Stenography and Press Offices”.
“If there is a difference in interpretation, the Press Office may choose to withhold the transcript but cannot edit it independently,” the supervisor wrote, according to the news agency.
Biden clarifies
Biden quickly walked back his comments on Tuesday evening on social media, saying he was not calling all Trump supporters “garbage” but referring specifically to the “hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally”.
But the controversy over Biden’s remarks happened on the same night as Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris was set to make her “closing argument” at the National Mall in Washington, DC.
She has consistently campaigned on the message that it is important to treat Americans with different ideologies with respect.
The next day she distanced herself from the president’s comments.
“Let me be clear,” she told reporters. “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”
Trump embraces the garbage truck
Republicans, already smarting from the negative public reaction to their New York rally, jumped on Biden’s comments as a retort to the outrage.
Many Trump surrogates said the remarks proved what Biden really thought of the millions of Americans who support Trump.
The next day, Trump donned an orange and yellow safety vest and got into the passenger seat of a garbage truck in Green Bay, Wisconsin, saying to reporters: “This is in honour of Kamala and Joe Biden.”
White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates did not comment directly on the changed transcript.
He told The Associated Press in a statement: “The President confirmed in his tweet on Tuesday evening that he was addressing the hateful rhetoric from the comedian at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally. That was reflected in the transcript.”
House Republicans are now debating whether to launch an investigation, accusing White House staff of “releasing a false transcript” of Biden’s remarks.