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There is enough of a furor over Joe Biden’s “garbage” comments and a desperate press corps working to clean up his verbal mess that today’s column qualifies under one category.
Democratic Custodial Services
THE WHITE HOUSE
In order to place all of this in the proper context, here is the video of Joe Biden’s comments on Tuesday. He was attempting to address the ginned-up controversy surrounding comedian Tony Hinchcliffe telling a joke about the island of Puerto Rico dealing with garbage problems, and the result was…well it was trademarked Joe Biden nonsense.
"A speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage," Mr Biden said. "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters." https://t.co/QrP4ja5sJp pic.twitter.com/S97XOgoDtg
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 30, 2024
As an indicator of how this went off the rails (expectedly), one of the drones inside the White House Communications Office took to Joe’s Xitter account to correct the record and “clarify” what he really meant to say.
POLITICO / MSNBC
We need to fix this immediately – revisionist punctuation to the rescue!
Jonathan Lemire was among the first to rush to Biden’s aid. He provided the transcript of President Silver Alert’s comment, and in it, supplied an apostrophe, altering his use of “supporters” to read as “supporter’s,” in order to claim he was only referring to the words of the lone comedian.
The full Biden quote from the Zoom tonight, which is being taken out of context: pic.twitter.com/fHT9PvVjiO
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) October 30, 2024
NBC NEWS / CBS NEWS
We’ll just keep revising the official transcript until SOMETHING works.
To see the desperate flailing on the part of the administration, this attempted punctuation reinterpretation was not even settled upon cleanly. The White House fed the compliant press differing transcripts with the new apostrophe addition that delivered differing interpretations.
White House can’t even decide on their spin. In the so-called transcript given to Gabe of NBC News (reporter who broke story), White House claimed Biden said “supporters’” (plural possessive), but in transcript given to Weijia & others, it is “supporter’s” (singular possessive). pic.twitter.com/jiHYI5ZWhU
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) October 30, 2024
CNN
Okay, he said it, but it was his impediment, not what’s in his heart.
On CNN, they went in another direction. Although we all heard Biden’s words, we are to believe it was a verbal miscue, not his true intentions.
That’s right – we get the “He has a stutter” excuse brought back from out of storage!
🚨 LMAO! A CNN panelist just said Joe Biden called Trump supporters “GARBAGE” because he has “a stutter”
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) October 30, 2024
You can’t make this stuff up 😂🤣
Luckily, he got absolutely BODIED by @ScottJenningsKY for pulling this pathetic stunt 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/Zof53bFDxP
WASHINGTON POST
Is this considered “Republicans Pounce” or “Republican’s Pounce”?
The Washington Post jumps into the fray with its punctuation follow-up but then adds an expected trope for a flourish. There they go, those Republicans, pouncing and seizing again!
Republicans have long strained for a new Hillary Clinton-Deplorables moment, but Biden’s defense is entirely plausible.
Did Biden call Trump supporters ‘garbage’? It comes down to an apostrophe. https://t.co/Xe8DwXkNte
— Post Politics (@postpolitics) October 30, 2024
CBS NEWS
Man, those garbage people on the right sure get testy pretty easily!
Matching this narrative is Ed O’Keefe, who details how Republicans have become angered over Biden’s garbage comments. He even goes on to use “seize” repeatedly in his report.
Notably absent in Ed’s coverage throughout the weekend is how angered, triggered, and upset Democrats have become – over a joke. Seems nobody on the left pounced, or reacted otherwise, according to his body of work.
NEW TONIGHT: “Supporters” or “supporter's”? @POTUS Biden’s comments about Trump “garbage” rally anger the GOP https://t.co/0lizEadAhw
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) October 30, 2024
YOUTUBE
"We have no idea what you are referring to"...!
In its best way possible, the biggest video platform is working to kill off the Biden “garbage” issue – by not making it searchable on its site.
YouTube/Google is censoring Joe Biden's calling Americans garbage. Even if you fully type the phrase, there are no results.
— Cash Loren (@CashLorenShow) October 30, 2024
Then, if you search, you will find zero results for Biden calling Americans garbage.
Big Teck is guilty of election interference. 𝕏 is how we know pic.twitter.com/5Z24xgTHWh
CBS NEWS
Do not believe your lying ears!
One other novel approach to this was also taken by CBS, in addition to the tired “pounce” cliche. See, you only think you heard Biden say what is claimed – despite there being a clear video showing him speaking in his unclear fashion.
No, CBS News is here to tell us that it only “appears” that he called us garbage, but he did not actually say what is clearly heard being said.
Republicans seized on comments made by President Biden appearing to refer to Trump supporters as "garbage." https://t.co/j59zOmNx22
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 30, 2024
CROOKED MEDIA
Okay, but…he is the president – you know, the head of the administration from which Kamala derives?
The desperation is so widespread you can taste it. (Salty, and rather bitter.) Many on the left, like Mr. Favreau here, are trying to suggest that somehow the words of the president of the U.S. do not count, since he is no longer on the ballot. And yet…braying for days about a comedian’s joke is perfectly sound political discourse.
Well, that tears it – We will NOT be voting for the comedian next Tuesday!
Joe Biden is not a candidate for president.
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) October 30, 2024
Kamala Harris is a candidate for president. Tonight she said if she wins, she’ll always listen to Trump supporters and give them a seat at the table.
Donald Trump is a candidate for president. He said Harris supporters are the enemy…
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
This speaks to just how far Biden’s influence has slid.
One might think that the leader of the free world referring to half his country as refuse would warrant mention on the biggest public radio broadcaster. But no, it was not deemed worthy of NPR’s attention.
That is not to say the topic was forbidden. They continued to bring up the comments made by a comedian telling a joke because that holds far more sway in this nation than the mentally-addled president, we assume.
On @NPR’s morning edition, zero mention of the controversial “garbage” comments made last night by the president, but yet another report on what the comic said Sunday at Trump’s Puerto Rico rally https://t.co/YSlAUu3Y4t
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 30, 2024
