Joe Biden's transcript of 'garbage' remarks raises eyebrows

Republicans have rejected Joe Biden and the White House's denial that the president called Donald Trump's supporters “trash.”

Biden said he was referring to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's joke attacking Puerto Rico at a Trump rally in New York when he made the remark on a Zoom call with the advocacy group Voto Latino.

The White House also released a transcript of the Zoom call to support the claim that Biden called Hinchcliffe's comments “garbage” rather than a Trump supporter. “The only trash I see floating out there is that of his supporters – his – his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and un-American,” the transcript reads. Newsweek emailed the White House and Trump's campaign seeking comment.

The comments' backlash is reminiscent of Hillary Clinton describing Trump supporters in 2016 as “a basket of deplorables” and accusing them of damaging the Democratic nominee's campaign. Hinchcliffe's joke about Puerto Rico being a “floating island of trash” so close to the election is intended to hurt Trump's electoral hopes in key swing states like Pennsylvania.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Newsweek that the president was referring to the “hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally” and not Trump supporters.

Several Republican figures accused the White House transcript of misrepresenting Biden's statement. Trump supporters said a video of the Voto Latino call showed the president was actually referring to them in the plural.

Greg Price, communications director for the State Freedom Caucus Network, posted on X, formerly Twitter: “The official White House record is simply lying about what Joe Biden said. Even if it’s clearly visible on video.”

Kylie Jane Kremer, executive director of Women for America First, which helped organize the January 6, 2021 protests in Washington DC, wrote: “The official White House protocol must be corrected immediately.”

“Notice the use of the apostrophe in the transcript. Joe Biden's words made it clear that he said Trump's supporters were trash. Not Biden talking about the garbage circulating from Trump supporters,” Kremer added.

David Giglio, who unsuccessfully ran for California's 20th district, wrote: “The regime is now lying to the American people and changing official White House protocols despite video evidence.”

Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist, added: “The problem with transcription going beyond people's ears is that the unintelligible interpolation of several different thoughts is not a very good defense.”

Jonathan Lemire, host of MSNBC's morning news show Way too earlysaid the transcript of Biden's remarks suggested the president's comments were “taken out of context.”

In a statement, Biden said: “Today I called the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico expressed by Trump supporters at his rally at Madison Square Garden trash – that's the only word I can think of to describe it.” His demonization of Latinos is incomprehensible.

“That's all I wanted to say. The comments at this rally do not reflect who we are as a nation,” the president said.

Karoline Leavitt, Trump's national press secretary, added: “President Trump is supported by Latinos, black voters, union workers, angel mothers, police officers, border patrol agents and Americans of all faiths – and Harris, Walz and Biden have called these great Americans as fascists, Nazis and now as trash.

“You can't get it twisted: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris not only hate President Trump, they also despise the tens of millions of Americans who support him,” Leavitt said.

Transcript of Biden's comments from the White House

“And the other day a speaker at his (Trump's) rally called Puerto Rico a 'floating island of trash.' Well, let me tell you something. I don't know the Puerto Rican I know or a Puerto Rican where I am in my home state of Delaware. They are good, decent and honorable people.

“The only trash I see floating out there is that of his supporters – his – his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and un-American. It is completely contradictory to everything we have done, everything we have been.”

“Now Trump has sought to divide the country by race, ethnicity and anything that causes harm to distract eyes from the terrible things he has done and will continue to do. But Kamala Harris fought for all Americans and will be a president for all America.”