Trump rally’s Puerto Rico slur lands with a thud in Pennsylvania

Financial Times

But he was “absolutely” worried that the insults about Puerto Rico would peel away votes from others in the community.
Elisa Rivera, a 24-year-old Puerto Rican Trump supporter, said she planned to vote for him “because he was very good when he was in office” on the economy and immigration.
Some Hispanic voters who were not from Puerto Rico expressed solidarity with the community.
But she described the slur on Puerto Rico as “disrespectful”.
And Puerto Rico is part of the United States.” Additional reporting by Lauren Fedor in Washington

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Standing outside her small grocery store in Allentown, Pennsylvania, one of the cities that will determine next week’s US election, which is heavily Puerto Rican, Lisa Harmony had a warning for Donald Trump.

Harmony said the fallout could be severe for the former president, two days after a right-wing comedian at a massive Trump rally in New York City referred to Puerto Rico, a US territory in the Caribbean Sea, as an “island of garbage.”.

As a result, I believe he will lose a significant number of votes. Certainly a sizable portion of the Latino community,” Harmony stated.

There are almost 500,000 Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania, the biggest battleground state and the biggest prize in the presidential contest between Trump and vice president Kamala Harris. The adults are eligible to vote because they are US citizens.

Trump has gained some support from Hispanic voters, particularly men, but his gains are being threatened at the last minute in places like Allentown and the Lehigh Valley due to racist remarks made during the rally on Sunday.

James, 35, is Puerto Rican and works at a barbershop in downtown Allentown, a few blocks from a location where Trump was scheduled to hold a rally on Tuesday. He said, “I have some friends that got offended.”. They immediately took it to the heart. “.”.

James stated that he would still vote for Trump, but he declined to reveal his last name. However, he was “completely” concerned that the disparaging remarks about Puerto Rico would cost him votes from other members of the community.

By claiming that comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s taunts at Madison sq\. Garden did not represent the former president’s “values,” the Trump campaign has distanced itself from the incident. However, Trump has not personally apologized for it, despite demands from some Allentown Puerto Ricans.

He referred to the rally in New York as a “lovefest” instead, speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday before departing for Pennsylvania.

Democrats in Pennsylvania claim the attack on Puerto Rico is having an impact and have quickly capitalized on the outrage to try to gain some votes in the closing stages of the election.

At a separate event in Allentown on Tuesday, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey told reporters, “Unlike very few things in this campaign, it’s broken through.”.

The Democratic congresswoman from the area, Susan Wild, stated that her district would likely decide the outcome of the Trump-Harris contest and that her phone had been ringing with angry messages.

There are a lot of people in the Puerto Rican community who are familiar with me, know my phone number, and are aware that I visited the island on official business. “I’m just really disappointed that President Trump didn’t publicly address this comedian’s remarks,” Wild said.

Already, a digital ad targeting Puerto Ricans has been broadcast in Pennsylvania by the Lincoln Project, a political action committee founded by Republicans who reject Trump. In reference to the comedian’s remarks at the Trump rally, the advertisement states, “We are not a punchline.”.

However, the Democrats’ ability to profit from the comedian’s comments might be limited.

Some residents had not heard about the rally in Madison sq\. Garden, despite the recent media frenzy. Some people rejected it.

Puerto Rican Trump supporter Elisa Rivera, 24, stated she would vote for him “because he was very good when he was in office” on immigration and the economy. Rivera claimed to have seen a meme on Facebook that said, “Kamala was on the toilet and Trump flushed her down,” but she was unaware of the comedian’s parody of Puerto Rico.

Working at the neighborhood corner store with a Puerto Rican flag displayed in the window, Fred Younes, a Syrian-American, stated that he would continue to support Trump and that locals would not be overly concerned.

The saying goes, “Names will never hurt me, but sticks and stones will break my bones,” he remarked.

Despite this, Harris, who quickly gained the support of Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny following the comment, has taken advantage of the commotion to continue her campaign’s last points, which is that Trump is not a good enough leader.

The opening acts for the Trump event in New York on Sunday made a number of offensive and racist comments about minorities, in addition to the racist joke about Puerto Rico.

While Trump sows hatred and division, she is offering solutions. On Tuesday, Jen O’Malley Dillon, the chair of the Harris campaign, told reporters, “We are definitely seeing additional support coming our way.”.

A few Hispanic voters who weren’t Puerto Ricans showed support for the island. Harris is supported by Juan Ramirez, a 73-year-old Dominican-American from Allentown, who called the comedian’s remarks “disgusting.”.

Juan Diego Barreto, a Mexican-American, stated that he was also in favor of Harris. “It was awful whether it was a joke or not,” he remarked.

A 28-year-old Puerto Rican named Clara González stated that she was backing Harris in order to defend abortion rights and because of her social policies. She called the insult to Puerto Rico, however, “disrespectful.”.

We all have respect for our country and, at the end of the day, we all live in America,” she continued. Additionally, the United States includes Puerto Rico. “.”.

In Washington, Lauren Fedor did more reporting.

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