With nine days until Election Day, Puerto Rico has been thrust into the spotlight of both campaigns. Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a plan to help the island – leading to Bad Bunny’s endorsement – while Puerto Rico was called a “floating island of garbage” by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who took speak at a press conference. rally for former President Donald Trump in New York.
In an effort to court Puerto Rican voters on the U.S. mainland, Harris released a video on her social media platforms on Sunday pledging to create a Puerto Rican task force to create jobs, cut red tape to ensure funds disaster recovery systems are used quickly and effectively and work with leaders across the island to ensure that Puerto Ricans have access to reliable and affordable electricity.
Rapper and singer Bad Bunny, a global superstar from Puerto Ricoshared the vice president’s video on her Instagram account with her 45 million followers and later posted part of the video in which Harris criticized Trump for his response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in 2017.
“I will never forget what Donald Trump did and did not do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and competent leader,” Harris said in the video. “He abandoned the island, tried to block aid after back-to-back devastating hurricanes, and offered nothing but paper towels and insults.”
In 2017, Trump visited the island to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Maria, a major Category 4 storm. While visiting survivors, the former president at one point threw paper towels to crowds while distributing supplies, a move that was criticized as foolish amid widespread frustration with the federal response to the hurricane that left much of the island without power or food.
A source close to Bad Bunny confirmed to CBS News that the Instagram post represents support for the vice president, breaking with Bad Bunny’s long-standing tradition of not weighing in on national politics. This is a coveted and important endorsement that both political parties have long hoped to secure to boost their penetration with Latino voters, given Bad Bunny’s global popularity.
Moments before Bad Bunny’s endorsement, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe targeted Puerto Rico in a series of derogatory jokes while speaking at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden.
“I don’t know if you know this, but there’s literally a floating island of trash in the middle of the ocean right now,” Hinchcliffe said. “I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
Danielle Alvarez, a senior advisor to Trump, told CBS News that “this joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” adding that the jokes were not reviewed or pre-approved.
Hinchcliffe’s remarks, which also included offensive jokes about black people and Latinos, sparked rapid backlash, with several celebrities speaking out in defense of Puerto Rico and Latinos in the United States and expressing support for Harris’ plan for the ‘island. Among those who spoke were Jennifer Lopez, Ariana DeBose and Ricky Martin. Martin, with over 18 million followers, took to Instagram and posted: “Puerto Rico, this is what they think of us, vote for Kamala Harris.”
Several Democratic and Republican politicians also denounced Hinchcliffe’s attacks on Puerto Ricans, who are a crucial voting group.
Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, said during a livestream with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “There are hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans in battleground states. They need to vote. “
Ocasio-Cortez agreed with Walz and directed her comments to Puerto Ricans in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania. “If you’re in Reading, if you’re in Philadelphia, look at this garbage,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to Hinchcliffe’s joke. “What’s rubbish is that people just think of other human beings that way.”
Pennsylvania is home to more than 579,000 eligible Latino voters, about 50% of whom reside in the “222 corridor” — a stretch of small towns west and north of Philadelphia, including Reading, Allentown and Bethlehem.
While Trump won the Keystone State in 2016 by 44,000 votes and Biden won it by 81,000 in 2020, narrow margins are once again expected to determine the outcome of the presidential election.
Harris spoke directly to Latino voters on Sunday while visiting a local Puerto Rican restaurant in Philadelphia. “When I was in the Senate, knowing that Puerto Rico does not have a senator, I always felt the need and obligation to do what I could as a senator to ensure that the needs of Puerto Rico are satisfied,” Harris said.
Harris campaign spokesman Kevin Muñoz said in a statement Sunday: “A reminder: Pennsylvania is home to more than 1 million Latinos who are primarily of Puerto Rican descent, and today Vice President Harris campaigned in the heart of Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community, speaking not only about her vision for the island, but also about how she will reduce costs and create opportunities in mainland communities.
On Tuesday, Trump is expected to campaign in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where Latinos make up 54% of the population, the majority of whom are of Puerto Rican descent.
Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott, a Trump ally, also denounced Hinchcliffe’s comments.
“That joke bombed for a reason. It’s not funny and it’s not true,” Scott said. “Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans! I have been to the island many times. It is a beautiful place. Everyone should visit! I will always do anything I can to help any Puerto Rican in Florida or on the island.”
Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar called the comments “racist.”
The island’s resident commissioner, Jenniffer González-Colón, a Republican running for governor of the island, said the comments were “despicable, inappropriate and disgusting.”
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contributed to this report.
