- In a pointy rebuke of comic Tony Hinchcliffe’s characterization of Puerto Rico as a “floating island of rubbish” throughout a rally for Republican former U.S. President Donald Trump, Democratic President Joe Biden made a comment that appeared to characterize Trump supporters as “rubbish.”
- Controversy arose not solely as a result of Trump’s supporters took offense at what they heard, however as a result of the White Home launched a transcript providing a unique tackle what Biden stated or meant to say.
- Particularly, the controversy hinged on whether or not Biden stated “The one rubbish I see floating out there’s his supporters,” plural, that means all of Trump’s supporters, or “The one rubbish I see floating out there’s his supporter’s,” possessive singular, that means Hinchcliffe’s “rubbish” about Puerto Rico.
- Neither model was implausible.
- Two days after White Home officers launched the transcript, on Oct. 31, 2024, The Related Press reported they’d altered the passage earlier than releasing it to the general public. The AP’s reporting hinged on two nameless sources and an electronic mail obtained by the information outlet. Snopes has but to independently confirm the AP’s reporting.
One week earlier than Election Day, U.S. President Joe Biden made a controversial comment throughout a video name with Voto Latino, a Democratic-leaning group that goals to extend the political participation of Latinos. The remark was a reference to a comic’s characterization of Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage” throughout a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump just a few days prior.
The way in which Biden phrased his comment concerning the comic drew the ire of the previous president’s supporters, who, based mostly on what they heard, took him to be characterizing them as “rubbish” (archived):
This publish on X by conservative pundit Charlie Kirk had collected greater than 9.4 million views and 27,000 likes as of this writing. U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida, additionally posted concerning the remark, and included a clip of the video (archived):
Within the three-second clip, Biden seemed to be saying “the one rubbish I see floating out there’s his supporters.”
“Obama referred to as us clingers. Hillary referred to as us deplorables. Kamala calls us fascists. And Biden simply referred to as us rubbish,” Donalds wrote.
In the meantime, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, singled out the political information web site Politico for the “falsehood” of deciphering Biden’s comment otherwise (archived) by saying he was referring to the “hatred” of Trump’s supporters who stated denigrating issues about different People:
Vance then replied to his personal publish with an extended clip of the video (archived):
The video confirmed Biden saying:
… or a Puerto Rico, the place I am fr— in my dwelling state of Delaware, they’re good, respectable, honorable individuals. The one rubbish I see floating out there’s his supporters — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it is un-American.
Later, Politico reporter Jonathan Lemire revised his report utilizing the complete quote as transcribed by the White Home (emphasis ours):
President Joe Biden rallied Latino voters Tuesday evening and delivered a stinging rebuke of the racist rhetoric aimed toward Puerto Rico throughout Donald Trump’s weekend rally.
A comic who appeared forward of Trump at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York Metropolis on Sunday referred to as the American territory an “island of rubbish.”
“The one rubbish I see floating out there’s his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it is un-American,” Biden stated in a Zoom name with the group Voto Latino, based on a White Home transcript.
The controversy hinged on the absence or existence of a possessive apostrophe after the phrase “supporter.”
The White Home Transcript
Republicans argued that Biden had made a blanket assertion about Trump’s supporters, plural.
Shortly after Biden made the remark, the White House published its official transcript of his remarks, writing “his supporter’s,” — singular and possessive — ostensibly referring to Hinchcliffe’s stance on Latinos. The total paragraph learn:
And simply the opposite day, a speaker at his rally referred to as Puerto Rico a “floating island of rubbish.” Nicely, let me let you know one thing. I do not — I — I do not know the Puerto Rican that — that I do know — or a Puerto Rico, the place I am fr- — in my dwelling state of Delaware, they’re good, respectable, honorable individuals. The one rubbish I see floating out there’s his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it is un-American. It’s very opposite to the whole lot we have completed, the whole lot we have been.
Then, about two days later, on Oct. 31, 2024, The Associated Press reported White Home press officers had altered that passage earlier than publishing it on-line. Citing two nameless authorities officers and an electronic mail obtained by the AP, the information outlet reported:
The transcript launched by the White Home press workplace, nevertheless, rendered the quote with an apostrophe, studying “supporter’s” fairly than “supporters,” which aides stated pointed to Biden criticizing Hinchcliffe, not the hundreds of thousands of People who’re supporting Trump for president.
The change was made after the press workplace “conferred with the president,” based on an inner electronic mail from the pinnacle of the stenographers’ workplace that was obtained by The AP. The authenticity of the e-mail was confirmed by two authorities officers who spoke on situation of anonymity to debate inner issues.
Within the purported electronic mail, an unidentified “supervisor” referred to as the press workplace’s dealing with of the matter “a breach of protocol and spoliation of transcript integrity between the Stenography and Press Places of work,” the AP reported.
We reached out to the White Home’s press workplace to independently confirm whether or not officers had certainly altered the transcript earlier than releasing it to the general public and for its response to individuals who imagine the alleged alteration may have been a breach of the 1978 Presidential Records Act. We are going to replace this story when, or if, we obtain a response.
After Biden spoke with Voto Latino, the president posted on X that he had zeroed in on Hinchcliffe and to reiterate that Hinchcliffe’s view of Latinos was flawed (archived):
Earlier as we speak I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Sq. Backyard rally as rubbish—which is the one phrase I can consider to explain it. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That is all I meant to say. The feedback at that rally do not mirror who we’re as a nation.
The fact is that each the Republicans’ preliminary interpretation and Biden’s clarification of his remarks are believable, and Snopes can’t divine what an individual was pondering once they made a remark. Subsequently, we will report solely what individuals heard within the video and the White Home’s and Biden’s rationalization after the decision.
