The transcript of President Joe Biden’s video call earlier this week, during which he referred to former President Donald Trump’s supporters as “garbage,” was altered by White House press officials, according to a report from the Associated Press (AP).
Biden faced backlash after a clip of his call Tuesday with Voto Latino was circulated online, during which the president was heard saying, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters—his—his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
Biden’s comment followed a comic at Trump’s rally in New York City on Sunday referring to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”
The White House said that Biden was referring to the rhetoric at Trump’s rally and not those who vote for him and released a transcript that included an apostrophe on “supporter’s.” According to an email from the head of the White House stenographer’s office reviewed by AP, however, the apostrophe was added after members of the White House press team “conferred with the president.”
The supervisor wrote in the email that the change was “a breach of protocol and spoilation of transcript integrity between the Stenography and Press Offices,” per AP’s report. Two government officials also confirmed the authenticity of the email.
This is a developing story and will be updated as further information becomes available.
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