Puerto Rican slur could cost The Donald votes

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called it an ‘island of garbage’ at a Trump rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Jennifer Lopez has endorsed Kamala Harris. Picture: Getty Images

Puerto Ricans vented their anger after a comedian targeted them with racist jokes at a weekend rally for Donald Trump – and some warned the Republican former president could pay for it on election day.

On the same day that Democrat Kamala Harris unveiled plans to revitalise the US territory, Tony Hinchcliffe called it an “island of garbage” at a Trump rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Puerto Ricans living in the Big Apple, like 48-year-old Javier Diaz, said the insults would have “consequences for president Trump”. “I’m going to vote for Harris,” said Mr Diaz, a paralegal living in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighbourhood.

Denis Castro, a 60-year-old retiree living in the same area, said the comments made by Hinchcliffe and others at the rally qualified as “racism”. “You can’t be talking like that,” Mr Castro said, suggesting that many people would be deterred from voting for Trump over the incident.

Residents of Puerto Rico cannot vote in US elections, but the diaspora population living in the 50 states numbers almost six million, according to Pew Research Centre, and is eligible to vote. It is the largest Hispanic community in the country after Mexicans.

The Democrat nominee has earned key endorsements from Puerto Rican celebrities, including actress-singer Jennifer Lopez, rapper Bad Bunny and singer Ricky Martin.

Bad Bunny, who has 45 million Instagram followers, reposted a video of Ms Harris attacking Mr Trump’s response to hurricanes that devastated the island while the Republican was president.

“He abandoned the island, tried to block aid after back-to-back devastating hurricanes and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults,” she says in the clip.

Ms Harris also launched a new ad targeting Puerto Rican voters, promising “a new way forward”. Sharing a clip from Mr Trump’s rally, Martin wrote: “This is what they think about us. Vote for Kamala Harris.”

Mr Trump and Ms Harris are in a dead heat in the seven swing states expected to decide the election, so infuriating Latino voters with a week to go before election day could prove damaging for the former president seeking a return to the Oval Office.

Though Mr Trump’s campaign sought to distance itself from Hinchcliffe’s remarks, the Republican nominee has repeatedly and aggressively attacked migrants, particularly from Latin America, on the 2024 campaign trail. “They invited this rhetoric on their stage for a reason,” progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is of Puerto Rican descent, said in a message.

Magda Serrano, 62, who is unemployed, said the comment was a “nightmare” and made her question Mr Trump’s plans to help her community.

“(The) joke left a very bad taste in my mouth,” she said. “I don’t feel like they’re going to do anything for us.”

For 41-year-old pediatrician Martha Arce, who moved to Miami after Hurricane Maria devastated her home island, the damage was done. “For a while, I was undecided about who I would vote for in this election, but the comments cleared my mind,” Ms Arce said Monday. “I will vote for Kamala Harris.”

AFP