After President Joe Biden’s comment on Tuesday describing Donald Trump’s supporters as “garbage” caused controversy, White House communications officials adjusted the transcript to clarify his intent. The change, a single apostrophe, shifted “supporters” to “supporter’s,” suggesting Biden meant to criticize only the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who had made disparaging remarks about Puerto Rico at a Trump rally, rather than all Trump supporters. The alteration was made without approval from the White House stenography office, which usually oversees such edits.
Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini and Communications Director Ben LaBolt, after consulting with Biden, decided the apostrophe change was necessary for accuracy. Biden then approved a clarifying tweet, stating he was responding to “hateful rhetoric” from a Trump-aligned comedian, not targeting all Trump voters.
The edit, first reported by the Associated Press, has sparked backlash, particularly from Republicans in Congress, who question the White House’s handling of the transcript. Amy Sands, the stenography office director, criticized the breach of protocol in an email, emphasizing her office’s role in maintaining an accurate historical record. Sands explained that although the press team tried to contact her, they released the edited transcript without her approval, which she described as “spoliation of transcript integrity.”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates defended the alteration, stating it was a matter of clarifying the president’s intent, which Biden had affirmed in his own social media post.
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