Fox News Digital has learned that the White House made changes to President Biden’s controversial garbage remark in the transcript, even though stenographers raised concerns. In an email obtained by Fox News Digital, a supervisor flagged what they called a breach of protocol and spoilation of transcript integrity between the Stenography and Press Offices.
The supervisor pointed out that while the Press Office can choose not to release a transcript if there’s a disagreement on interpretation, they shouldn’t edit it on their own.
“The version we sent out, which includes the National Archives, is now different from what was edited and shared with the public by Press Office staff,” they wrote.
Amy Sands, who heads up White House Stenography, also called out the press office after this incident. She noted in an email that drafts from her team meant to help the Press Office are not finalized or for public sharing.
“We really need to avoid distributing these rough drafts,” she emphasized, as they can lead to confusion among staff, media, and the public until we’ve completed our thorough review process.
When Fox News Digital reached out, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates explained, The President made it clear in his tweet on Tuesday night that he was responding to the hateful comments from the comedian at Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden. You can see that in the transcript. However, there’s still some confusion about whether the transcript being referenced is the one that was modified before being shared with the press or if it’s the final version sent to the National Archives.
This whole transcript issue started during a virtual campaign call on Tuesday where Biden joined Voto Latino. He took a jab at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, which got attention after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe joked about Puerto Rico being a floating island of garbage. Biden responded by saying, The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters, and added that Trump’s attacks on Latinos are both unacceptable and un-American.
Initially, White House stenographers had noted “supporters” in their transcript. But then, in a version released by the White House press office, it changed to “supporter’s,” with an apostrophe—suggesting Biden was targeting Hinchcliffe instead of all Trump voters. The Associated Press reported this change happened after discussions between the press office and the president, according to an internal email from the head of stenographers.
As this comment blew up on social media, Vice President Kamala Harris was delivering her closing arguments to voters during a big speech outside the White House. To clarify his earlier remarks, Biden posted on X: Earlier today I referred to hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico coming from Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage—it’s really just how I feel about it, he wrote. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say; those comments don’t reflect who we are as a nation.
At a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Trump reacted to the terrible remark. He reminded the crowd, Remember when Hillary called people ‘deplorable’ and then went on to say ‘irredeemable’? That didn’t go over well.
I think calling it garbage is even worse. He joked with his supporters, saying, But hey, he doesn’t really get it—so let’s cut him some slack. He just doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Trump added with a laugh that he believes Biden actually prefers him over Kamala Harris.
To capitalize on Biden’s gaffe, Trump took a ride in a garbage truck in Green Bay, Wisconsin, decked out in a bright orange safety vest that he later wore at another rally. Meanwhile, Harris tried to distance herself from Biden’s garbage comment while answering questions from reporters.
She said, “First off, he did clarify what he meant. But let me be clear: I don’t agree with criticizing anyone based on their voting choices.” She emphasized that her job is about representing all Americans regardless of their political views. Harris also mentioned she spoke with the president on Tuesday night but didn’t bring up his “garbage” comment during their chat.