{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://stefanik.house.gov/2024/10/icymi-fox-news-house-republicans-accuse-white-house-of-releasing-false-transcript-of-biden-s-garbage-remarks", "ICYMI: Fox News: House Republicans Accuse White House of Releasing 'False Transcript' of Biden's 'Garbage' Remarks", "2024-10-30", "2024", "2024-10", "Republican", "House", "NY", "Elise M. Stefanik", "S001196", "stefanik.house.gov", "stefanik", "https://stefanik.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Saratoga, N.Y. - In case you missed it, Fox News released an article covering House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer\u2019s letter to White House counsel Edward Siskel concerning the Biden-Harris Administration\u2019s potential violation of the Presidential Records Act for releasing a false transcript of Joe Biden\u2019s remarks in which he referred to supporters of President Donald Trump as \"garbage.\"\n\nRead the full article below.\n\nFox News: House Republicans accuse White House of releasing 'false transcript' of Biden's 'garbage' remarks\n\nHouse Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer accuse the White House of releasing a false transcript of President Biden\u2019s remarks in which he apparently referred to supporters of former President Trump as \"garbage,\" warning that the revision could violate the Presidential Records Act.\n\nFox News Digital obtained a letter Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Comer, R-Ky., sent to White House counsel Edward Siskel Wednesday afternoon in which they demand records relating to the remarks and the transcript are preserved.\n\n\"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 \u2014 marred by unpopular policies, scandal, and apparent cognitive deterioration \u2014 has chosen not to pursue a second term in office,\" they wrote.\n\n\"President Biden, however, has continued to play a prominent role in Vice President Harris\u2019s campaign and, indeed, is the most powerful mouthpiece for the Biden-Harris Administration\u2019s policies and views that Ms. Harris presumably seeks to continue under a hypothetical Harris-Walz Administration.\"\n\nStefanik and Comer pointed to Biden\u2019s remarks Tuesday night, saying, \"Americans were rightfully insulted, then, when President Biden, seeking to boost Ms. Harris\u2019 presidential campaign, referred to an enormous swath of the country as \"floating \u2026 garbage.\"\n\n\"President Biden\u2019s 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\u2019s actions after he said them.\"\n\nStefanik and Comer said the White House, \"instead of apologizing or clarifying President Biden\u2019s words,\" sought to \"change them (despite them being recorded on video) by releasing a false transcript of his remarks.\"\n\n\"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.\"\n\nThe 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. 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.\"\n\nBiden replied, \"The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.\"\n\nThe White House has since denied that Biden called Trump supporters \"garbage\" and claimed the comment was taken out of context.\n\nThe White House, on Wednesday, released a transcript of Biden\u2019s remarks.\n\nThe official White House transcript says, \"The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter\u2019s \u2014 his \u2014 his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it\u2019s un-American.\"\n\nWhite House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates sought to clarify Biden\u2019s remarks, saying, \"The president referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as \u2018garbage.\u2019\"\n\nAnd the president tweeted in the same vein.\n\n\"Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage\u2014which 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.\"\n\nNow, Vice President Kamala Harris is seeking to distance herself from the remarks, but she's also defending the president, saying he \"clarified his comments.\"\n\n\"But let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,\" Harris said.\n\nHarris, referring to her Tuesday night speech from the Ellipse near the White House, reiterated 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 break through 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.\n\n\"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.\"\n\nThe White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital\u2019s request for comment.\n\nIn their letter to White House counsel, Stefanik and Comer wrote, \"Though President Biden\u2019s relevance continues to diminish, his words continue to matter, even as they become increasingly divisive and erratic.\"\n\nStefanik and Comer demanded the White House \"retain and preserve all documents and internal communications regarding President Biden\u2019s statement and the release of the inaccurate transcript.\"\n\n\"We also demand that the White House issue a corrected transcript with the accurate words,\" they wrote.\n\nTrump, at a rally in North Carolina Wednesday, said Biden and Harris have \"treated our whole country like garbage.\"\n\n\"My response to Joe and Kamala is very simple: You can\u2019t lead America if you don\u2019t love Americans,\" Trump declared. \"And you can\u2019t be president if you hate the American people, and there\u2019s a lot of hatred there.\"\n\nFox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://stefanik.house.gov/2024/10/icymi-fox-news-house-republicans-accuse-white-house-of-releasing-false-transcript-of-biden-s-garbage-remarks"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6095129065215588, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}