Oh, so because his handlers say it was a joke it was a joke. What were they going to say otherwise?
I'm not so sure Biden wasn't joking, he just said it because he often says things he shouldn't say. That's not new, and with his senility it's very possible it just slipped out. Then he realized he'd fucked up and tried to make it as if he were joking.
It is the transcript of the meeting, what was actual said, and not said, all in context, not what the “handlers say,” but what was actually said
Again, that is a major problem with wingers, they refuse to accept primary sources and would rather swallow any someone else says in a blog or tweet about the primary source