Republicans react to President Joe Biden's "garbage" comment, and Florida voters are split on amendment 3.

Biden says 'garbage' comment was about comedian, not Trump supporters

Republicans are blasting President Joe Biden for calling supporters of former President Donald Trump “garbage,” but Biden insists his comments are being misinterpreted.

In a call organized by the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino, Biden spoke about a comic at Trump's rally who called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage." Biden's initial comments were garbled.

"Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Well, let me tell you something, I don't, I don't know the Puerto Rican that I know, the Puerto Rico where I'm fr -- in my home state of Delaware. They're good, decent honorable people," he said.

What the president said next is being hotly debated. 

Some believed Biden attacked Trump’s supporters when he said: "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American. It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been."

However, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden "referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as 'garbage.'"

The White House released a transcript in which the placement of an apostrophe indicates Biden was speaking about a single person -- the comedian behind the controversial joke, Tony Hinchcliffe.

“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s -- his -- his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American,” according to the transcript.

Biden also took to social media to personally clarify what he said.

"Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage — which is the only word I can think of to describe it," he posted on 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."

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday responded to from President Joe Biden's comment calling the rhetoric at former President Donald Trump's New York rally "garbage," which Republicans are taking taking to mean that the incumbent insulted the Republican's supporters.

“Joe Biden finally said what he really thinks of our supporters. He called them ‘garbage.’ And they mean it. Even though, without question, my supporters are far higher-quality than crooked Joe’s,” Trump told an audience in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

“My response is very simple: You can’t lead America if you don’t love Americans. You just can’t,” Trump said.

He went on to suggest that the administration was mistreating Americans by returning to his familiar theme of immigrants who have entered the country illegally.

“We know what they believe,” he said. “Because look at how they’ve treated you. They’ve treated you like garbage.”

In Arizona last week, Trump referred to the United States as “a garbage can for the world" in his latest tirade against migrants.

Florida voters split on Amendment 3

The campaigns for and against the recreational marijuana amendment on the ballot this year have brought in tens of millions of dollars of contributions.

Recent polls show the amendment hovering around the 60% support that it needs to pass.

For some, the potential legalization of recreational marijuana is personal.

“This is the world I usually play on, Minecraft. It’s a world that I’m clearly doing a lot of work on.. And it’s a work in progress,” Dahlia Barnhart said.

The 13-year-old is happy and vibrant, but it wasn’t always like this. She was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was 2.

“She has been on 4 chemotherapy trials at St. Jude over the last 11 years, so she’s been on chemotherapy for 9 of the past 11 years,” Moriah Barnhart said.

Moriah is Barnhart’s mom.

She says her daughter’s medications dealing with pain and nausea were overwhelming. They turned to cannabis as an alternative, and Moriah says it was life-changing for her daughter.

Seeing that impact led Moriah to advocate for legalizing recreational marijuana.

“This is not about cannabis, this is a litmus test for if these politicians believe that they are elected to fulfill our will, if they believe in freedoms,” she said.

She believes passing amendment 3 will help adults have more access, especially those who can’t afford to go to a doctor to get a medical marijuana card.

But for others, legalizing recreational marijuana for adults in Florida is a step in the wrong direction.

Ellen Snelling is against amendment 3.

“I think the way its word-smithed, they think it’s a harmless plant, and it’s anything but,” Snelling said. “It’s really personal for me. It’s about my family and my daughter. She started using marijuana in high school. It was just a lot of chaos that broke out in my family, and unfortunately she went on to much harder drugs.”

She says it was a gateway drug for her daughter, who has been battling addiction for more than 20 years.

But it’s not just her personal story. She says broader access to marijuana could harm kids.

“I know it doesn’t outright kill people as far as overdose, but overdoses do send people to the hospital. A lot of children are going because of edibles,” she said.

Snelling says she knows it will create a massive new industry in the state but says the risks don’t outweigh the reward

Recreational marijuana is already legal in 24 states. Voters will decide in November if Florida becomes the 25th state.