White House press officials changed the official statement in which President Joe Biden belittled supporters of former President Donald Trump. The change caused stenographers to complain about the decision to modify the president’s statements for posterity, reported the Associated Press.
Uproar a few days before choosing a new president
The White House is generating a series of comments due to Biden's reaction against the Republicans, creating a tense environment for Vice President Kamala Harris, who will be competing in the elections against her Republican opponent Donald Trump in a few days.
Biden made the comment during a Zoom call on Tuesday with Voto Latino, an organization that encourages young Latinos and Hispanics to get involved politically: “A few days ago, a speaker at a rally called Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage’,” said Biden. He added that the only “garbage” he saw “floating around” were their supporters, although it was not clear if he was referring only to Hinchcliffe or to all of Trump’s followers.
Let's remember that Hinchcliffe made comments against Puerto Rico and against Latinos living in the US: "A lot of things are happening. I don't know if you know this, but right now there is literally an island of garbage in the middle of the ocean. I think it's called Puerto Rico."
This was the White House press release.
The White House published the transcript of Biden’s remarks and only added an apostrophe to Biden’s quote, which made it read “supporters”.
In response to the questions, the advisors clarified that the president was referring to Hinchcliffe and not to Trump supporters. According to AP, the change in the transcript was made when the press office "had spoken with the president."