WASHINGTON – Reports indicate that officials at the White House made changes to an official transcript of a conversation where Joe Biden referred to certain matters as ‘garbage.’

President Joe Biden seems to have made comments that could be interpreted as derogatory towards supporters of former President Donald Trump, according to various reports.

This alteration in the official transcript has sparked complaints from the stenographers responsible for accurately recording the president’s statements for historical records, as reported by the Associated Press. This information comes from two government officials and an internal email that was accessed by the news agency. Fox News has also verified the existence of this email.

This situation arises while the White House is managing other pressing issues.

The uproar following Biden’s comments has led to strong reactions from outraged Republicans and created a political challenge for Vice President Kamala Harris just days before the Nov. 5 election.

Biden expressed his views during a Zoom meeting on Tuesday with Voto Latino, which promotes political involvement among Latino and Hispanic youth. During this call, he criticized offensive jokes made by podcast host Tony Hinchcliffe regarding Puerto Rico at Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden over the weekend.

Recently, during a rally, Biden remarked on a speaker who labeled Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” In response, he pointed out that the only “garbage” he recognized in the vicinity were the supporters present. It was unclear whether he was specifically addressing Hinchcliffe or making a broader reference to all of Trump’s supporters.

According to an internal email from the head of the stenographers’ office, which was acquired by the AP, the alteration to the transcript occurred after discussions with the president. The news organization reported that it verified this email’s authenticity through two officials who requested anonymity while discussing internal affairs.

In that email, the supervisor indicated that how the press office managed this situation constituted “a violation of protocol and interference with transcript integrity between the Stenography and Press Offices,” as stated by the AP.

“In cases where there is a discrepancy in interpretation, the Press Office has the option to withhold the transcript; however, they are not permitted to modify it on their own,” stated the supervisor. He further explained, “The transcript from our Stenography Office — distributed to our network that includes the National Archives — now differs from the version that was edited and made public by Press Office personnel.”

The stenographers’ office is responsible for accurately recording the president’s public and private statements. These transcripts are then made available to the public and preserved by the National Archives.

According to AP, on the night of Biden’s call, the two-person stenography team consisting of a “typer” and a “proofer” stated that any changes to the transcript needed approval from their supervisor, who leads the stenographers’ office.

This supervisor, who is a long-time employee at the White House, expressed concerns regarding what the press office did in an email addressed to White House communications director Ben LaBolt, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, along with other officials in press and communications. However, they did not comment on whether the edits were accurate or not.Biden addressed his earlier comments on X, aiming to clarify his statements regarding the derogatory remarks made about Puerto Rico by Trump’s supporters at a Madison Square Garden rally. He described those remarks as “garbage,” stating it was the best way he could express his feelings. He emphasized that Trump’s attacks on Latinos are unacceptable and not representative of American values.

Deputy press secretary Andrew Bates shared an edited version of the quote on X, stating that Biden described the hateful remarks made during the Madison Square Garden rally as “garbage.”

When asked for a comment, Bates provided a statement to YSL News on Thursday night but did not clarify if the transcript had been altered.

“In his tweet from Tuesday evening, the president affirmed that he was responding to the hateful comments made by the comedian at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally,” read the statement.

Biden’s statement sparked significant backlash from Republican officials and Trump. During a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Trump labeled Biden’s remarks as “terrible” and drew parallels to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 description of some of Trump’s supporters as “deplorables.”In Wisconsin on Wednesday, Trump made headlines by taking a ride in the cab of a garbage truck to highlight Biden’s recent comments.

Harris also expressed her disagreement with Biden’s remarks, stating to reporters that while the president attempted to clarify his words, she believes it’s wrong to criticize voters based on their political preferences.

At the same time, House Republicans are voicing worries that the White House could have breached the Presidential Records Act by altering the transcript of Biden’s statements.

On Wednesday, Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, along with Representative James Comer from Kentucky, who leads the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, addressed a letter to White House Counsel Edward Siskel. They are demanding that all documents and internal communications concerning President Biden’s statement and the erroneous transcript be preserved. The lawmakers also urged the White House to release a corrected version of the transcript that accurately reflects what was said.

The letter stated that it is necessary for the President of the United States to align more closely with political messaging. It noted that while President Biden’s influence appears to be waning, his statements remain significant, even as they tend to become more polarizing and unpredictable.