Did White House alter Biden's 'garbage' remarks in the official record? What we know

The White House has come under fire for altering an official transcript of President Joe Biden’s remarks, where he seemed to criticise Donald Trump’s supporters as “garbage.” The changes, made by White House press officials, sparked concerns from federal stenographers who document presidential remarks, with claims of violating transcript integrity, according to U.S. government sources and an internal email obtained by The Associated Press.

During a video call with Latino activists earlier this week, Biden addressed remarks by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, a Trump supporter, who recently described Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” In the original transcript prepared by the White House stenographers, Biden was quoted saying, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”

However, the White House’s official transcript of the conversation altered Biden’s words, changing “supporters” to “supporter’s,” implying Biden was only criticising Hinchcliffe rather than Trump’s wider voter base. According to an internal email from the head of the stenographers’ office, this change followed a discussion between press officials and the president himself. The email, verified by two government sources, stated that the alteration constituted “a breach of protocol and spoliation of transcript integrity.”

The head of the stenography office warned in the email that any change should follow official protocol, which allows the press office to withhold a transcript but does not permit independent edits. The email further noted that the altered transcript distributed by the White House press team differs from the version recorded by the stenographers, which is typically archived and preserved by the National Archives.

The altered transcript emerged as media inquiries poured in about Biden’s remarks, especially as they seemed to conflict with Vice President Kamala Harris’s simultaneous statement encouraging respectful dialogue across political divides. Harris, addressing a crowd outside the White House, stressed the importance of unity and respect regardless of political beliefs, striking a markedly different tone from Biden’s remarks.

In response, the Trump campaign seized on Biden’s comment, using it as a fundraising opportunity and staging a photo shoot with Trump in a garbage truck. The next day, Harris distanced herself from Biden’s comments, stating, “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”

As criticism mounted, Biden posted on social media, clarifying that his “garbage” reference was aimed at the “hateful rhetoric” from Hinchcliffe, not Trump supporters generally. Yet, according to the email, the White House press team had directed the stenographers to expedite the transcript’s release but issued it before any supervisory review was completed.

Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson, defended the change, posting on social media that Biden was referencing the “hateful rhetoric” at Trump’s rally, as per the edited transcript.

House Republicans, led by Elise Stefanik and James Comer, have since hinted at launching an inquiry, criticising the White House for releasing what they called a “false transcript” and suggesting that this action may violate the Presidential Records Act . In a letter to White House counsel Ed Siskel, the lawmakers demanded preservation of all records linked to the altered transcript, asserting that “White House staff cannot rewrite the words of the President to be politically convenient.”