WASHINGTON — Democrats intensified their attacks on Donald Trump on Monday, a day after a comedian opening a rally for the former president called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” a comment that drew widespread condemnation and highlighted the growing power of a key player. Latino group in the swing state of Pennsylvania.
Vice President Kamala Harris described Trump’s rally Sunday at Madison Square Garden as “more lively than usual” and said he was “stoking the fuel of hatred” before it flies to the Michigan for a campaign event. President Joe Biden called the gathering “simply embarrassing.” In a rare move Sunday night, the Trump campaign distanced itself from remarks about Puerto Rico made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe.
“The garbage he talked about pollutes our elections and confirms how little Donald Trump cares about Latinos in particular, our Puerto Rican community,” said Eddie Moran, mayor of Reading, at a press conference with other Puerto Rican officials.
Just over a week before Election Day, the fallout underscores the importance of Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes and last-minute efforts to woo a growing number of Hispanic voters, primarily from Puerto Rico, who have moved in towns west and north of Philadelphia.
Fernando Tormos-Aponte, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Pittsburgh who specializes in Puerto Rican politics and election organizing, said the timing of the comments could create problems for the Trump campaign.
“When you combine the events that took place yesterday with other grievances of Puerto Ricans, you’re really not engaging in a solid political strategy,” Tormos-Aponte said.
Trump did not mention the controversy during his first appearance of the day, at the National Faith Summit in Powder Springs, Georgia. The closest we got was when conservative activist Gary Bauer asked a question that included offhanded praise for Trump turning Madison Square Garden “into MAGA Square Garden.”
“Great night,” said Trump, who planned to attend a rally in Atlanta later in the day.
Trump’s vice presidential pick, Sen. JD Vance, was asked about the slur during an appearance in Wausau, Wisconsin.
“Maybe it’s a stupid racist joke, like you said. Maybe that’s not the case. I didn’t see it. I’m not going to comment on the details of the joke,” Vance said. “But I think we need to stop taking so much offense over every little thing.”
The Harris campaign released an ad that will run online in battleground states, targeting Puerto Rican voters and highlighting the comedian’s remarks. The comments earned Harris a show of support from Puerto Rican music star Bad Bunny and sparked reactions from Republicans in Florida and Puerto Rico.
Hinchcliffe also made demeaning jokes about black people, other Latinos, Palestinians and Jews before Trump’s appearance. On Monday in Pittsburgh, Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, gave a speech about anti-Semitism in America, a day after the anniversary of the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre.
“There’s a fire in this country, and we’re either pouring water on it or we’re pouring gasoline on it,” Emhoff said.
Yet it was Hinchliffe’s quip about Puerto Rico that got the most attention, in part because of the geography of the election.
From Labor Day through last weekend, the two campaigns made more visits to Pennsylvania than to Georgia, Arizona and Nevada combined, according to Associated Press tracking of the campaigns’ public events. The state has some of the fastest-growing Hispanic communities, including Reading and Allentown, where more than half the population is Hispanic.
Pennsylvania’s eligible Latino voting population has more than doubled since 2000, from 206,000 to 620,000 in 2023, according to Census Bureau figures. More than half of them are eligible Puerto Rican voters.
The comedian’s remarks were broadcast early Monday on Spanish-language radio in Pennsylvania by one of Harris’ surrogates based in Allentown, Pa., who called out Trump for failing to apologize beyond a campaign statement saying “this joke does not reflect opinions.” of President Trump or the campaign.
In central Florida, U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, a Democrat whose district covers neighborhoods where large numbers of Puerto Ricans have recently left the island, noted Monday that there were a “huge number” of Puerto Ricans in swing states.
“We remember, and you know what, that we are going to vote,” Soto said at a news conference called by Puerto Rican leaders. “It’s the only thing we can do at the moment.”
Harris said Monday that none of the vitriolic remarks at the rally at Madison Square Garden would support the dreams and aspirations of the American people, but would instead fan “the fuel of the attempt to divide our country.”
She said Trump’s event on Sunday, during which speakers hurled cruel and racist insults, “highlighted the point I’ve made throughout this campaign.”
“He is focused and obsessed with his grievances, with himself and with the division of our country, and that is in no way something that will strengthen the American family, the American worker,” the Democratic presidential candidate said. presidential.
Harris also said: “What he did last night is not a discovery. It’s just the same and may be more vivid than usual. Donald Trump spends all his time getting Americans to point fingers at each other, stirring up hatred and division, and that’s why people are exhausted by him.”
Harris also spoke about his proposals for Puerto Rico, such as creating a task force to bring in private companies to modernize the island’s power grid.
Trump planned to return to Pennsylvania on Tuesday with a visit to Allentown after delivering a speech to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida.
Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in Orlando and Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.
