Washington [US], October 29: 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.
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 himself 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 on the campaign trail, arguing that Trump's desire to root out his enemies represents a threat to democracy.
Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, though they do not have voting representation in Congress and the island does not vote for president. The island is an unincorporated territory of the United States.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Cooperation