“There is a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”, said on sunday Hinchcliffe at a Trump rally made in the Madison Square Garden in New Yorkimmediately generating a wave of rejection and citizen indignation, to which Puerto Rican politicians and artists joined. It also generated rejection among democrats and their own republicans who distance themselves from the extremists of their party.
LOOK: Puerto Rico becomes a point of discussion in the US: a bad joke unleashes the fury of Latinos
On Monday, the campaign tycoon distanced himself from Hinchcliffe’s comments. ”This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign”Danielle Álvarez, a senior adviser to the campaign, told ABC News.
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at former President Donald Trump’s rally. (APNews).
Even Republican congressmen of Latino origin like Maria Elvira Salazar (Florida) described as racist the expressions of Hinchcliffe.
“Disgusted by racist comment @TonyHinchcliffe who calls Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage.’ This rhetoric does not reflect the values of the Republican Party. Puerto Rico sent more than 48,000 soldiers to Vietnam and received more than 345 Purple Hearts. This bravery deserves respect. Educate yourself!”Salazar wrote on the social network X.
While on Tuesday, trump He referred to the topic: “I don’t know him, someone put him there. “I don’t know who it is,” he told ABC News in an interview. He did not apologize to Puerto Ricans.
Then at Mar-a-Lago, trump pointed out that “There has never been an event as beautiful” as Sunday’s rally in New York.
For her part, the Democratic candidate Kamala Harristries to take advantage of the impact of what happened in New York and launched on Monday a advertisement aimed at Puerto Rican voters. In the video the words of Hinchcliffe with images of Puerto Rico after the devastating Hurricane Maria in 2017, a disaster that occurred when Trump was in the White House.
“I will never forget what he did. donald trump. “He left the island and offered nothing but rolls of paper and insults.”says Harris in the ad, which has images of the mogul throwing toilet paper to Puerto Ricans desperate for tragedy.
“Puerto Ricans deserve better. As president, I will always fight for you and your families.”Harris adds in the video.
The ad is broadcast in all key states, especially in territories where there is a Latino majority. One of them is Pennsylvaniawhere the vote of Puerto Ricans could be key on November 5.
Pennsylvania and Puerto Ricans
A woman walks past posters encouraging early voting near Philadelphia City Hall, Pennsylvania, October 29, 2024. (EFE/EPA/WILL OLIVER).
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Pennsylvania distributes 19 Electoral College votes. It is the largest prize among states where the outcome will be decided by a narrow margin. Of its 9 million registered voters, 600,000 are Latino.
Of them, some 300,000 are Puerto Ricans. It is the third largest population of Puerto Ricans in USA.
In the 2020 elections, the Democrat Joe Biden won in Pennsylvania to trump with only 81,000 votes difference.
While donald trump He won in 2016 with only 44,000 votes difference, or 0.72 points.
So, the number of Puerto Ricans who vote in Pennsylvania It is much higher than the difference that the winners made in the last two elections.
According to the latest average of polls compiled this Tuesday by FiveThirtyEight and The New York Times, in Pennsylvania Trump and Harris are technically tied at 48%.
On Sunday, before Tony Hinchcliffe make your comment, Harris was campaigning in Pennsylvania. The candidate went to a Puerto Rican restaurant to talk about her plan to boost the island’s economy and accelerate its reconstruction after Hurricane María.
One fact sums up the importance of Pennsylvania: It is the state with the most visits by both candidates in the current campaign. Between August 5 and October 27, Harris campaigned there 14 times, while Trump 11.
Pennsylvania. (AFP).
The impact among Latino voters
Kamala Harris campaigns at Freddy & Tony’s, a Puerto Rican restaurant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2024. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP).
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Jesus Garciaeditor at La Opinion and El Diario Nueva York, told The Commerce that The Republican joke does not sit well with Trump’s presidential campaign because he sent a very negative message, much more than what the magnate had been sending when he talked about his strategy for mass deportations and when he described Latino immigrants as criminals.
“Calling Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage has not gone down well with civil organizations that promote the Latino vote either. “They have called on voters to respond with their vote,” García remarked.
“We are already seeing reactions even from religious groups in Puerto Rico. There are those who point out that finally Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico do not vote for the Presidency, that is true if they are in Puerto Rico, but well if they are on the mainland Puerto Ricans can vote for the Presidency, and In the case of Pennsylvania this vote is important”, he added.
García stressed that in early voting, which is through mail and special boxes, the latinos They have not participated much, only 2.2 have paid so far, something that is not new, he said.
“Latino voters, even if you are constantly giving them messages, almost always make a decision in the end. So, there we can see if there is an interesting change. But if there is no change, we will be seeing that there are different types of Latinos, where some believe they are superior or different from others.and that is why they feel that jokes of bad taste, of discrimination, do not directly affect them”García said.
According to a survey published this month
According to the New York Times, 56% of Hispanics support Kamala Harris compared to 37% who support Trump. That 19-point lead is the lowest for a Democratic candidate since 2016.
A street performer wearing a Trump mask dances as attendees wait to enter the Republican presidential candidate’s rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on October 29, 2024. (EFE/EPA/DAVID MUSE).
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Aribel Contreras Suarezcoordinator of the Bachelor of Global Business at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, told The Commerce that “the Puerto Rican population, beyond the fact that they feel offended, attacked, with just reason, will not be able to collect the bill from donald trump. Those who can do so are those Latinos of Puerto Rican origin who live in the interior of the United States and who do not have a political approach or empathy with the Republican. “They could carry out a punishment vote and elect Kamala Harris.”
He considered that on November 5, the focus of the fight for the White House will be on Pennsylvania. “Before the event in Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania was already a hinge state completely closed between the two candidates. With this additional component, it could be that those who are not so extreme or radical for Trump would opt for the punishment vote and lean towards Harris,” insisted.
But Contreras too He highlighted that in the United States there are a large number of Latinos who are totally in favor of Trump’s anti-immigrant measures. “It may seem incongruous, but that is the reality. Even though Trump has said that Latino migrants are rapists, they were in prisons, they left asylums, there are many Latinos who are in favor of him. Let’s not think that because of what just happened to Puerto Rico, all Puerto Ricans will now come out to support Kamala Harris.”.
The international analyst Francisco Belaunde Matossian He argued that the campaign itself trump He has realized that what happened in New York could affect them because we are in a very tight election, that is why he has distanced himself.
“The curious thing is that this occurs in a situation in which more and more Latinos and blacks are voting for Donald Trump. Now some of them might decide not to support it.”said Belaunde.
About PennsylvaniaBelaunde considered that being such a decisive state, Republicans must be worried about the reaction that Puerto Rican voters would have. “Republicans know that any mistake at this point can cost them dearly”.
Why doesn’t Trump apologize to Puerto Ricans?
Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, on October 27, 2024. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP).
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Until Tuesday, Trump had not apologized to Puerto Ricans. Jesús García indicated that this is because Republicans who support the magnate do not like to back down from the things they do.
“You will never hear them apologize for anything, there is no apology, there will be justifications for why such a thing was done, but that is not an apology,” he said.
He added that Trump is not coming out at this time to apologize because he does not believe it is necessary to do so. “Finally he didn’t say it. So, within that universe they don’t see it as part of a serious problem. This is part of his personality. We have not seen him offer an apology in the legal proceedings he faces. “He also did not apologize in the civil trial for sexual assault that he lost.”
For Contreras, “Trump does not apologize to Puerto Rico because he has not apologized to Mexicans, nor has he apologized to all Latinos, despite all the atrocities he has said about them since 2016. Why do we think that now he is to do? It’s not his personality and he’s not going to do it.”.
