Top Democrats sharply criticized a senior House Republican on Sunday after he shared a video that included a clip apparently doctored to insert words into an activist’s question to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden that were never actually said.
Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on House Minority Whip Steve Scalise to take down a video that Twitter flagged earlier Sunday as containing “manipulated media.”
The video contains a clip of an interview between Biden and activist Ady Barkan — who uses a computerized artificial voice due to his ALS — in which Barkan asks if Biden can “agree that we can redirect some of the funding” from law enforcement to mental health and social services, to which Biden agrees.
Scalise’s altered clip uses a computerized voice similar to Barkan’s to falsely add the words “for police” to his question.
“This video is doctored — and a flagrant attempt to spread misinformation at the expense of a man who uses assistive technology. It should be removed. Now,” Biden wrote.
“@SteveScalise tried to steal @AdyBarkan’s health care with more than 60 votes to repeal or undermine Americans’ health care. Now, he’s trying to steal Ady’s words by lying,” said Pelosi. “Congressman Scalise must take his doctored video down and apologize immediately.”
Barkan himself also responded to the No. 2 House Republican, calling on him to apologize to the disabled community.
“These are not my words. I have lost my ability to speak, but not my agency or my thoughts. You and your team have doctored my words for your own political gain. Please remove this video immediately. You owe the entire disability community an apology,” he tweeted.
The congressman fired back at his critics on Twitter, claiming that he had portrayed Biden’s stance on police reform accurately. Scalise’s office did not return a request for comment from The Hill.
“Twice in one interview Biden says ‘yes’ & ‘yes absolutely’ to questions about ‘redirecting’ police funding. Dems & their partners in the media want to blame ‘editing’ to pretend this isn’t exactly what he believes. Here’s the full clip. See for yourself,” Scalise tweeted.
On Monday he appeared to be less willing to defend the video’s manipulation, telling “Fox & Friends” that the video should not have been changes.
“Look, it shouldn’t have been edited,” Scalise said. “But at the same time, the comments were always about — in fact, twice in that interview he asked Joe Biden if he was for redirecting money away from police. And in both times, Joe Biden said yes.”
On Twitter flagged a short clip tweeted by the Trump campaign of a brief segment of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s speech as “manipulated media.”
The campaign tweeted a 3-second clip of Biden saying, “You won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America,” that was clipped to separate it from the line before where Biden clearly stated that he was quoting the message the Trump campaign has been pushing.
“Since they can’t run on the simple proposition of sending our children safely back to school. And since they have no agenda or vision for a second term, Trump and Pence are running on this: ‘You won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America,’” Biden said during his speech delivered in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
After receiving some online backlash for the video, the Trump campaign followed up with a message dismissing the tweet as a “joke.”
“To all the triggered journalists who can’t take a joke about their candidate, it’s not our fault Joe Biden was dumb enough to say this on camera,” the campaign tweeted.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign was not immediately available for comment after Twitter flagged the video as “manipulated media.”
Biden condemned violence at demonstrations across the U.S. and blamed Trump for inciting the violence and division during his speech.
He also called out the Trump campaign for using current images of violence in the campaign’s attempt to cast a potential Biden presidency as unsafe.
“And what’s their proof?” Biden said, referring to Trump’s warnings. “The violence you’re seeing in Donald Trump’s America.”
“These are not images from some imagined ‘Joe Biden’s America’ in the future. These are images from Donald Trump’s America today,” Biden continued. “He keeps telling you if only he was president it wouldn’t happen. He keeps telling us if he was president you would feel safe. Well — he is president. And it is happening. And you don’t.”