WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican and Democratic leaders alike and Puerto Rican celebrities bashed comments made at a major Donald Trump event in New York by a comedian who called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage."
Speaking before the Republican presidential candidate at a rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night, comedian and podcast host Tony Hinchcliffe added that Latinos "love making babies" and that they do not "pull out," comments that leaned into a racist trope that Latinos are preoccupied with childbearing and averse to birth control.
"There's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now," Hinchcliffe said. "I think it's called Puerto Rico."
The presidential campaign of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats, several prominent Puerto Rican celebrities and some congressional Republicans denounced the comments, which were widely panned as racist.
The Trump campaign itself said the comments did not reflect Trump's views. Trump himself has not commented on Hinchcliffe's performance, though he has leaned into racist and sexist rhetoric on the campaign trail.
At some recent rallies, he has also warned about a nefarious "enemy from within" that is set on undermining the nation. Harris has criticized that rhetoric, arguing that Trump's desire to root out his enemies represents a threat to democracy.
"Look, it was a comedian who made a joke in poor taste," campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday.
Puerto Ricans are US citizens, though they do not have voting representation in Congress and the island does not vote for president.
`IT WASN'T FUNNY`
Ed Rosa, 60, a New York resident whose parents were born in Puerto Rico, said he had been planning to vote for Trump, but will now sit the election out after Hinchcliffe's comments. He has removed the Trump campaign signs he had placed in the windows and yard of his North Bronx home.
"I really believe it was racist," said Rosa. "And I was a very strong supporter of Trump until yesterday."
Americans of Puerto Rican origin or ancestry are an important demographic in some competitive swing states that will likely decide the winner of the Nov. 5 election, including Pennsylvania. Both candidates are fighting for the Latino vote, which has trended more Republican in recent years but still leans Democratic.
Matt Tuerk, the Democratic mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania, which is majority Latino and almost one-third Puerto Rican, told Reuters in an interview that he was "disgusted."
"This was a wake-up call for people who might have thought that things would not be that bad under Trump," he said.
Trump is due to hold a rally in that city on Monday. Both Trump and Harris have focused much of their energy in the last weeks of the campaign on trying to win over voters in the state, which could help decide the next occupant of the White House.
In a video posted on X on Sunday, Harris reacted directly to Hinchcliffe's comments saying, "Puerto Rico is home to some of the most talented, innovative and ambitious people in our nation."
Actor and singer Jennifer Lopez, whose parents were born in Puerto Rico, shared Harris' video on Instagram, as did Puerto Rican rapper, singer and producer Bad Bunny. It was his first apparent gesture of support for the Democratic candidate.
Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor Ricky Martin shared a video of Hinchcliffe's comments on Instagram, writing "This is what they think of us" in Spanish.
Hinchcliffe played down the offensive nature of his comments.
"These people have no sense of humor," Hinchcliffe wrote on X in response to a critical video from Democratic lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Harris' running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
During his address on Sunday night, Hinchcliffe also employed racist tropes about Black Americans and Jews. He said he and a Black audience member "carved watermelons together," while Jews "have a hard time throwing that paper," an apparent reference to a stereotype that Jewish people are cheap.
Separately, senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller told the audience that "America is for America and Americans only," a comment criticized by Democrats for its apparent rejection of all immigrants to the country.
Among the Trump allies who took offense at Hinchcliffe's comments was Republican U.S. Senator Rick Scott of Florida, a state that has many Puerto Rican voters.
"It's not funny and it's not true," he wrote on X on Sunday evening.
Republican US Representatives Anthony D'Esposito, Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez also quickly condemned the comments. D'Esposito, who is partially of Puerto Rican ancestry, represents a hyper-competitive Long Island district.
Still, some Trump allies were less concerned. The former president and his allies have leaned into personal insults and racist rhetoric in the campaign's final months, but his standing in the polls has not deteriorated.
"Politically it is a non-issue," said David Tamasi, a fundraiser for Republicans. "An undecided voter is very unlikely to be swayed by a remark, impolitic as it was, made on a Sunday night by an unknown comic."