EXCLUSIVE: House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer are accusing the White House of releasing a false transcript of President Biden’s remarks in which he apparently referred to supporters of former President Donald Trump as “garbage,” warning that the revision could violate the Presidential Records Act.
Fox News Digital obtained a letter Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Comer, R-Ky., sent to White House counsel Edward Siskel on Wednesday afternoon in which they demand records relating to the remarks and the transcript are preserved.
President Biden was widely criticized for his “garbage” remark about former President Trump’s supporters. (Getty Images)
“In less than one week, the American people will determine the winner of the 2024 presidential election. They will choose between two candidates: President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. President Biden — marred by unpopular policies, scandal, and apparent cognitive deterioration — has chosen not to pursue a second term in office,” they wrote.
“President Biden, however, has continued to play a prominent role in Vice President Harris’s campaign and, indeed, is the most powerful mouthpiece for the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies and views that Ms. Harris presumably seeks to continue under a hypothetical Harris-Walz Administration.”
Stefanik and Comer pointed to Biden’s remarks Tuesday night, saying “Americans were rightfully insulted, then, when President Biden, seeking to boost Ms. Harris’ presidential campaign, referred to an enormous swath of the country as “floating…garbage.”
“President Biden’s vindictive words were unsurprising, given his previous statements regarding people who choose not to vote for his preferred candidate,” they wrote. “Unsurprising too were the White House’s actions after he said them.”
Stefanik and Comer said the White House, “instead of apologizing or clarifying President Biden’s words,” sought to “change them (despite them being recorded on video) by releasing a false transcript of his remarks.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. (Getty Images)
“The move is not only craven, but it also appears to be in violation of federal law, including the Presidential Records Act of 1978,” they wrote. “White House staff cannot rewrite the words of the President of the United States to be more politically on message.”
The letter comes after President Biden spoke during a Zoom call with Voto Latino, one of the largest Latino voter and civic outreach organizations in the U.S., on Tuesday. Biden was asked about a comment made Sunday during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in which comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.”
Biden replied: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.”
The White House has since denied that Biden called Trump supporters “garbage” and claimed the comment was taken out of context.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. (Faith and Freedom Coalition )
The White House, on Wednesday, released a transcript of Biden’s remarks.
The official White House transcript reads: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates sought to clarify Biden’s remarks, saying: “The president referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’”
And the president tweeted in the same vein.
“Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage—which is the only word I can think of to describe it,” Biden posted to X. “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.”
Now, Vice President Kamala Harris is seeking to distance herself from the remarks, but she’s also defending the president, saying he “clarified his comments.”
President Biden delivers a speech at Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore. (Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
“But let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” Harris said.
Harris, referring to her Tuesday night speech from the Ellipse near the White House, reiterated on Wednesday how voters will decide “who we are as a nation and whether we are going to be a nation of people who attempt to unify and breakthrough this era of divisiveness, or are we going to be a nation of people who have a president stewing in the Oval Office over his enemies list.”
“You heard my speech last night and continuously throughout my career,” Harris said. “I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not, and as President of the United States, I will be a president for all Americans whether you vote for me or not.”
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, speaks during a campaign rally on the Ellipse Oct. 29, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
In their letter to White House counsel, Stefanik and Comer wrote, “Though President Biden’s relevance continues to diminish, his words continue to matter, even as they become increasingly divisive and erratic.”
Stefanik and Comer demanded the White House “retain and preserve all documents and internal communications regarding President Biden’s statement and the release of the inaccurate transcript.”
“We also demand that the White House issue a corrected transcript with the accurate words,” they wrote.
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Meanwhile, Trump, in a rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, said Biden and Harris have “treated our whole country like garbage.”
“My response to Joe and Kamala is very simple: You can’t lead America if you don’t love Americans,” Trump declared. “And you can’t be president if you hate the American people, and there’s a lot of hatred there.”