Puerto Rico GOP chair demands apology from Trump himself following comedian’s racist rant

29 October 2024

Former President Donald Trump featured a long list of speakers at his campaign rally at New York City's Madison Square Garden on Sunday, October 27, from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to attorney Alina Habba. But the speech that inspired the most controversy came from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who told the crowd, "I don't know if you guys know this, 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 against Hinchcliffe's racist joke has been swift. Three major Puerto Rican celebrities — Jennifer López, Ricky Martin and reggaetón star Bad Bunny — responded by endorsing Trump's Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

The controversy has been raging in both the Continental U.S. and Puerto Rico, where conservative Angel Cintrón — who chairs the Puerto Rico Republican Party (el Partido Republicano de Puerto Rico) is calling for Trump himself to apologize.

On the Puerto Rican talk show "Jugando Pelota Dura" ("Playing Hardball"), Cintrón declared, "If Donald Trump doesn't apologize to Puerto Rico, I'm not going to vote for him."

Newsweek's Khaleda Rahman notes that although residents of Puerto Rico "cannot vote in general elections despite being U.S. citizens," Cintrón "said he would not cast a symbolic vote for Trump unless he issued an apology."

Another prominent Puerto Rican who is speaking out is Archbishop Roberto O. González Nieves of the Archdiocese of San Juan.

In a letter sent to Religion News Service (RNS) on Monday, October 28, the San Juan archbishop wrote, "Puerto Rico is not a floating island of garbage. Puerto Rico is a beautiful country inhabited by a beautiful and noble people, which is why in Spanish it is called 'un encanto, un edén' or 'an enchantment, an Eden. More Puerto Rican soldiers died in the Vietnam War as part of the United States military than soldiers from any state of the United States."

Although residents of Puerto Rico cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections, the many Puerto Ricans living in the Continental United States — from New York City to Philadelphia to Chicago to Boston — can. And Rep. Richie Torres (D-New York), whose district is in the Bronx, is arguing that Hinchcliffe attack on Puerto Rican makes a strong case for voting against Trump.

On X, formerly Twitter, Torres tweeted, "As a Puerto Rican, I am tempted to call Hinchcliffe racist garbage but doing so would be an insult to garbage. When casting their ballots at the voting booth, Latinos should never forget the racism that Donald Trump seems all too willing to platform."

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