'Latino-trashing rally': Trump in denial as Puerto Rico scandal rages on

29 October 2024

Of all the MAGA Republicans who were featured at former President Donald Trump's campaign rally at New York City's Madison Square Garden on Sunday, October 27, the one who has generated the most controversy is comedian Tony Hinchcliffe.

"I don't know if you guys know this," Hinchcliffe told the crowd, "but there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it's called Puerto Rico."

The backlash came swiftly, with many Puerto Ricans — from the island itself to the Continental United States — calling out Hinchcliffe's racist comments. Three major Puerto Rican celebrities (Jennifer López, Ricky Martin and reggaetón star Bad Bunny) responded by endorsing Trump's opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Members of Trump's campaign have been in damage-control mode. Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt described Hinchcliffe's joke as being "in poor taste," and her colleague Danielle Alvarez stated, "This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump."

But Trump himself, according to Daily Beast reporters Mini Racker and Mary Ann Ackers, appears to be in denial about the scandal.

Racker and Ackers report, "Donald Trump insists his Latino-trashing rally in New York — which sparked widespread outrage, even among Republicans — went 'great' and was 'filled up'…. At another campaign event in Atlanta, seemingly oblivious that he may have alienated a crucial voting bloc to his electoral success, Trump bragged about the crowd size at his Sunday rally at the Garden."

Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) has responded to the controversy by saying he wished Americans didn't "get so offended at every little thing."

"But outside the Trump-Vance bubble," Racker and Ackers observe, "the furor sparked by Trump's Sunday rally at the Garden 'spread like wildfire' in Pennsylvania — the crucial swing state that is home to roughly 600,000 Latino voters, the vast majority of whom are Puerto Rican…. The MSG controversy comes one week before Election Day in a razor-thin race that could break either way. And Democrats are seizing on the Madison Square Garden controversy to shore up support from Latino Americans — a crucial voting bloc in all seven battleground states where the election will be decided."

Read the Daily Beast's full article at this link (subscription required).

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