The White House faced major backlash this week after President Joe Biden referred to supporters of former President Donald Trump as “garbage” in comments that have stirred controversy on both sides.
After his remarks, the White House released an edited transcript that made it look like Biden was referring to “garbage rhetoric” rather than Trump supporters themselves.
Conservatives and others saw this as a clear attempt to cover up the statement, and they wasted no time calling out what they saw as a “lie” from the White House and its allies.
The incident began when Biden was speaking with Voto Latino, a group focused on Latino voting rights.
In his speech, he mentioned a recent rally for Trump at Madison Square Garden, where he criticized rhetoric used by Trump supporters, calling it “garbage.”
However, many viewers heard him say, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.” Conservatives quickly reacted, arguing that Biden was directly attacking Trump supporters just days before the election.
White House officials attempted to clarify Biden’s comments, saying he was actually criticizing the “hateful rhetoric” at the rally, not the individuals themselves.
They also updated the official transcript to reflect this by adding an apostrophe to make it look like Biden meant “supporter’s rhetoric.”
White House spokesman Andrew Bates defended the change, stating, “The President referred to the hateful rhetoric… as ‘garbage.’”
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Biden tried to clarify his remarks, saying, “Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage.”
Despite these attempts, the situation continued to escalate, with many accusing the White House of covering up what they saw as an insult toward millions of American voters.
Some media figures and political analysts, particularly on left-leaning networks, accepted the White House’s explanation. Film executive Franklin Leonard, during a CNN segment, defended Biden’s statement, explaining that he thought Biden’s stutter might have contributed to any misunderstanding.
“As someone who had a stutter growing up, it’s very obvious to me that there’s an apostrophe at the end of ‘supporter’s’ there,” Leonard said, emphasizing that Biden was addressing “garbage rhetoric” rather than Trump supporters themselves.
MSNBC’s Jonathan Lemire, along with host Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe, accused Republicans of trying to spin Biden’s words into another “basket of deplorables” moment, referencing Hillary Clinton’s 2016 comment about Trump supporters.
“It’s a story on the Right, who are trying to paint this as the next ‘basket of deplorables,’” Lemire stated, dismissing Republican outrage as an attempt to manufacture a controversy. “Joe Biden obviously doesn’t believe that,” added Scarborough.
Despite these defenses, many conservatives were not buying it. GOP strategist Matt Whitlock took to social media to say, “You can clearly hear Biden say, ‘The only garbage I see out there is his supporters…’”
He went on to call out MSNBC and Politico’s coverage, accusing them of spreading a “dishonest transcript” and “gaslighting” viewers. In his words, altering the transcript to soften Biden’s comments was “shameful.”
The debate didn’t stop there. Substack journalist Michael Shellenberger accused the White House of altering the transcript in what he suggested could be a violation of the Presidential Records Act, which mandates accurate documentation of presidential statements.
When Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson reached out to the White House for clarification, the spokesperson declined to discuss whether they’d actually spoken with Biden about what he intended to say.
Thompson stated that the White House asked to keep the response off the record, which he declined.
Republicans like Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio), Trump’s running mate, also took aim at the White House’s narrative. He posted a screenshot of the original transcript on X, writing, “‘The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.’ That’s a direct quote.”
Vance continued, “That’s what Kamala Harris’s boss said,” taking a jab at both Biden and his vice president, who is up for election in November.
The situation has stirred reactions from both sides of the political spectrum. Some Democrats were supportive of Biden’s statement, such as billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, a known donor to Harris’s campaigns.
Khosla tweeted that Biden’s use of the word “garbage” was actually “an understatement” when describing what he called “MAGA extremists.”
However, Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been distancing herself from Biden on several issues, did not defend the comment.
Speaking to reporters on the tarmac before a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina, she responded, “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”
Her statement was seen as a clear attempt to avoid the backlash Biden was facing.
This controversy comes just days before Election Day, where Harris and Trump are closely competing in critical battleground states, including Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia.
Early polls suggest a close race, with Harris trailing Trump in some states by a single percentage point, according to RealClearPolitics.
The White House is hoping to move past this incident as the election nears, but with the race so close, both sides are taking advantage of every opportunity to sway undecided voters.
In the meantime, both Democratic and Republican pollsters agree that the upcoming election remains a toss-up, with both parties seeing strong early and mail-in voting turnouts.
Republicans appear to be performing better than expected in some early voting metrics, creating a sense of urgency for Democrats to shore up support in these final days.
As the controversy continues, both parties are focusing on energizing their respective bases.
For Democrats, every vote counts, especially with Harris’s slim margin in key states.
For Republicans, Biden’s remarks have provided another rallying point, and Trump supporters are using it as motivation to turn out in large numbers on Election Day.
