On Tuesday, Former President Donald Trump made several efforts to stem the anger that had been in the minds of people after the comedian’s insulting jokes about Latinos and Puerto Rico at his rally at Madison Square Garden. The former president took his campaign to the majority of Latino cities as the anger continued to rage; it has been believed that the anger that kicked in has threatened the gains he has made with the Latino voters.
Trump did not mention the comedian’s remarks in New York City in his 75-minute address, citing polls showing his performing well among Latino voters and voicing solidarity with Puerto Rico.
Close to the end of the rally, Trump called on stage Puerto Rico’s Republican shadow senator, who glorified him and attested to his commitment to the U.S. territory days after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe analogised Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage” as one of a string of jokes at Trump’s event Sunday.
Zoraida Buxó, a Republican who is one of Puerto Rico’s nonvoting shadow senators who advocates for statehood, noted that he trusted that the people of Puerto Rico had high hopes. He noted several reasons why Trump should be sent back to the White House. According to him, Trump needs to be the commander-in-chief because he will try to ensure that the people feel safe and secure.
Before Trump’s speech at the event, some of the speakers celebrated the strides made by Puerto Rico.
Tim Ramos, a former mayoral candidate in Allentown, introduced himself to the crowd as “a Puerto Rican man” who wanted to express his love of the island and the people of Puerto Rico.
He noted that they were round of the heritage, explaining that it was a heritage that has seen the men fight in every war the nation has ever waged. He praised the people, noting they were beautiful people from a beautiful island.
Another speaker, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., delivered remarks in both Spanish and English. Rubio, who had earlier criticized Hinchcliffe’s comment on X, didn’t mention the episode Tuesday.
The pro-Puerto Rico message follows two days of growing outrage over Hinchcliffe’s appearance at the Sunday Trump rally in the famed Manhattan arena.
Amid a tight race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the comment disparaged a slice of the electorate that could tip a close election. In Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state, the Puerto Rican population amounts to nearly 500,000 people, according to census estimates. People of Puerto Rican descent are the most significant share of Latino-eligible voters in Pennsylvania.
Matt Tuerk, the Democratic mayor of Allentown, during an interview, noted that his constituents were in danger after the comic comments made during the rally on Sunday. He explained that it has been believed that the people will soon turn their anger into voting on election day. He noted that the people will not get mad at their actions but will show their worry during the elections.
Before the end of the rally on Sunday, many individuals, including elected officials from both parties, pop culture figures, entertainers, and ordinary voters, spoke about the remarks and criticised the comments. The Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny endorsed Harris and put out a video that was a homage to the island, giving it an ironic caption garbage which predicted that he was in anger with the comments.
The comment made by Hinchcliffe has been seen as a setback for the former president as it has been seen as an inopportune time for the Trump campaign. Some of the recent polls conducted by Reuters/Ipsos, NBC News/CNBC/Telemundo, and others have shown Donald Trump had taken advantage of the Hispanic men that Joe Biden and other Democratic candidates enjoyed in 2020 and other recent elections.