Donald Trump faced an uproar over racist jokes told at his Madison Square Garden rally before the election ― but President Joe Biden stopped the damage and “saved” the news cycle for Trump, the president-elect’s campaign team claimed in a new interview.
Speakers at the event — which included Tony Hinchcliffe, the comedian who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” — left Trump “aggravated,” co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita told Politico in an article posted on Thursday.
“Unforced error,” chief pollster Tony Fabrizio added. “I mean, obviously we weren’t happy that it happened.”
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden said.
Relegated to spin control, the White House tried to explain that Biden was referring to Hinchcliffe’s words. The president himself also attempted to walk back the remark. Officials reportedly even altered the official transcript to include an apostrophe to buttress their argument.
“Saved it,” LaCivita said.
“Biden saved the news cycle?” Politico’s Jonathan Martin asked.
“Yeah,” LaCivita replied.
