President Joe Biden’s “apostrophe scandal” could be the end Vice President Kamala Harris’ struggling 2024 presidential campaign just days before the final vote is cast.
The White House faced immediate backlash Tuesday after editing an official transcript of Biden’s controversial move to call Trump supporters “garbage” by adding an apostrophe in an apparent attempt to change the meaning of his statement made during a call.
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden said on the call, pausing before adding, “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
The White House later released a transcript altering the quote to read: “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 spokesman Andrew Bates claimed Biden was referencing “the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.'”
The controversy stemmed from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke about Puerto Rico at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, which Democrats pounced on as politically incorrect and offensive.
When Axios reporter Alex Thompson asked if aides had spoken to Biden before issuing the clarification, “the Biden spokesperson requested to go off the record,” Thompson wrote. “Axios declined and the White House did not respond further.”
Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance, condemned Biden’s remarks as an attack on American voters.
“This is disgusting. Kamala Harris and her boss Joe Biden are attacking half of the country,” Vance said. “There’s no excuse for this. I hope Americans reject it.”
The incident overshadowed Harris’ “closing argument” Washington, D.C. rally, which was intended as her final appeal to voters before the November 5 election. Harris later distanced herself from the comments, telling reporters, “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”
Critics have compared Biden’s remarks to Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment about Trump supporters in 2016. The “deplorable” comment ultimately helped undo Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Harris currently trails Trump by one percentage point in seven battleground states, according to RealClearPolitics polling data.