WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House stenographers objected to press officials' alteration of U.S. President Joe Biden's transcribed response to comments at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's weekend rally disparaging Puerto Rico, according to the Associated Press.
In remarks to Latino activists this week, Biden responded to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage" at Trump's Sunday rally at New York's Madison Square Garden. Hinchcliffe also disparaged Black Americans, Jewish people, Palestinians and Latinos.
Biden, a Democrat, quickly moved to clarify his remark after Trump and other Republicans seized on his response ahead of Tuesday's presidential election and accused Biden of vilifying all Trump supporters. Biden said he was referring to "hateful rhetoric" at Sunday's rally.
"The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American," Biden said on Tuesday night's call with activists according to an official transcript prepared by government employees, AP reported on Thursday.
A transcript released by the White House press office, however, included an apostrophe — "supporter's" — suggesting Biden was criticizing one supporter, Hinchcliffe. Both words sound the same, making it unclear from audio of Biden's call with activists which version he meant.
An internal email from the stenographers' office said the change was made after the press office conferred with Biden. The stenographers' supervisor wrote that the move was a breach of protocol because the press office should not have edited the transcript, the AP reported.
Representatives for the White House could not be immediately reached for comment on the report.
Republicans and Democrats have criticized the comedian's remarks, including Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate.
On Wednesday, Harris noted that Biden had clarified his remarks, adding: "I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for."
Biden, who at age 81 has worked to overcome a childhood stutter and has a history of verbal missteps, dropped his bid for reelection in July after a poor debate performance against Trump, 78. Harris, 60, was nominated as the Democrats' presidential candidate the next month.