(Ken Silva, Headline USA) It’s widely known by now that President Joe Biden called Trump supporters “garbage” on Tuesday during a Zoom call with Voto Latino, a prominent U.S. voter outreach group.
But you might not know it if you only read a White House transcript of Biden’s remarks. The official White House transcript of Biden’s remarks incorrectly placed an apostrophe in the word “supporters,” making it “supporter’s” to give the false impression the demeaning Democrat did not stoop to the name-calling seen on video.
Now, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Fla., are probing whether the White House’s alteration was illegal.
🚨BREAKING: Biden-Harris White House may have violated the law by altering President Biden’s “garbage” remarks in official transcript.
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) and Oversight Chairman James Comer (@RepJamesComer) are raising concerns… pic.twitter.com/52z6J7EO7q
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) October 30, 2024
“Instead of apologizing or clarifying President Biden’s words, the White House instead sought to change them (despite them being recorded on video) by releasing a false transcript of his remarks. The move is not only craven, but it also appears to be in violation of federal law, including the Presidential Records Act of 1978,” Comer and Stefanik said Wednesday in a letter to Edward Siskel, the Assistant to the President and White House Counsel.
“White House staff cannot rewrite the words of the President of the United States to be more politically on message. Though President Biden’s relevance continues to diminish, his
words continue to matter, even as they become increasingly divisive and erratic.”
Comer and Stefanik demanded that the White House retain and preserve all documents and internal communications regarding President Biden’s statement and the ensuing inaccurate transcript. They also demanded that the White House issue a corrected transcript with the accurate words.
Biden remarks came in response to a question about comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke referring to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday.
WATCH: President Joe Biden: "The only garbage I see floating out there is [Trump] supporters." pic.twitter.com/9teSUOytqC
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) October 30, 2024
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden said.
Biden’s comments hit news airwaves simultaneously as Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her closing pitch to voters at the Ellipse that evening in Washington, D.C.—leading to jokes among Trump supporters that Biden’s secretly trying to sabotage Harris.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
