It was on Tuesday evening that Biden responded to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe – who at a Trump meeting in New York made a noted and criticized joke about Puerto Rico, calling it "an island of trash".
Puerto Rico is an American territory but not a state. Many Puerto Ricans live in the USA.
The only trash I see floating around is his supporters, his – his demonization of Latinos is conscienceless and un-American, said Biden in a video call with representatives of a group representing Latino voters.
Biden later clarified that his comment was aimed at Hinchcliffe's joke and rhetoric being "trash" and not Trump's supporters. In the transcript of the conversation that the White House released, the English word "supporter's" was used – which refers to a single person.
The Press Service Changed
But in the transcript made by the White House's official stenographers, the word "supporters" was used without an apostrophe – which refers to multiple people, in this case the millions of Americans who support Trump.
The two excerpts differ because the White House changed its transcript after its press service "consulted with the president", shows an internal email from the head of stenographers that AP has taken part of. The email's authenticity was confirmed by two anonymous government officials.
In the email, the head of stenographers writes that the White House press service's handling of the matter is "a breach of regulations" and that it has destroyed the integrity that existed between the stenographers and the press service.
Trump in Garbage Truck
The Trump campaign has since Biden's statement tried to capitalize on the criticism of Biden. Among other things, Donald Trump posed for a photo shoot in the driver's cab of a garbage truck on Friday. At the same time, Republicans in the House of Representatives are considering launching an investigation into the matter, and accuse the White House staff of "releasing a false transcript" of Biden's comment.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has distanced herself from Biden's statement.
Let me be clear. I strongly condemn any form of criticism against people based on who they vote for, she said on Wednesday.
