Outrage grows over Puerto Rico ‘island of garbage’ racist jibes during Trump MSG rally

Outrage was spreading Monday implicit racist jibes aimed astatine Puerto Ricans, Blacks and others by speakers astatine erstwhile President Trump’s rally astatine Madison Square Garden.

A parade of Democratic leaders and A-list celebrities denounced the Trump run and comic Tony HInchcliffe for calling Puerto Rico a “floating land of garbage” astatine the packed Sunday rally, which included crude attacks connected Latinos and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“There was thing that’s an mishap astir what was said … it was an authentic depiction of what Donald Trump thinks astir Puerto Rico,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Monday. “This is what these radical judge and it’s not a joke.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries trashed Republicans for “invit(ing) this filth into our community.” Gov. Hochul said the hate-fest amounted to an “ugly, divisive, and racist” closing connection to the Trump campaign.

Superstar Jennifer Lopez and reggaeton sensation Bad Bunny jumped disconnected the governmental sidelines to enactment Harris  successful the hours aft the shocking remarks, which could thrust Latino voters distant from Trump successful the important last days earlier the Nov. 5 election.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez denounced the remarks, portion Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez jumped disconnected the governmental sidelines to endorse Kamala Harris. (Getty; AP)

Republicans were scrambling to play defense. Florida Rep. Byron Donalds said Monday that “no 1 agrees” with the disfigured jokes astir Puerto Ricans and attacked the Daily News for the “RACIST RALLY” front-page headline during an quality connected CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“To the Daily News, is it a racist rally if a Black antheral from Florida who’s primitively from New York speaks astatine that rally?” Donalds said. “I don’t deliberation so.”

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, an endangered first-term Long Island Republican, said his parent is Puerto Rican and urged GOP voters to “stay connected message.”

“The lone happening that’s ‘garbage’ was a atrocious drama set,” tweeted D’Esposito, who is locked successful a pugnacious reelection battle successful his Democratic-leaning district.

Even the Trump campaign, which seldom gives immoderate crushed to criticism, took the highly antithetic measurement of walking backmost the “island of garbage” remarks, adjacent though critics noted that the jibes appeared connected a teleprompter and were approved by the Trump campaign.

“This gag does not bespeak the views of President Trump oregon the campaign.” said Danielle Alvarez, a Trump run spokeswoman.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez of Brooklyn and activistic Luis Miranda are among the city’s Latino assemblage leaders holding a property league Monday to condemn the “racist and anti-American attacks targeting Puerto Rico by Donald Trump and his utmost MAGA-right allies,” a spokesperson said.

It remains to beryllium seen whether the remarks volition cost Trump astatine the ballot box. But with polls showing a dead-heat race, Democrats anticipation they could person immoderate undecided Latino voters distant from him.

Latinos are a cardinal constituency successful respective battleground states and marque up 4% of registered voters successful Pennsylvania, possibly the astir captious of the 7 battleground states

About fractional of those Latinos are of Puerto Rican descent. They usually ballot powerfully Democratic, but some polls person shown Trump winning a greater stock of support this twelvemonth compared to the 2020 and 2016 races.

Georgia, which Trump mislaid by conscionable 11,000 votes successful 2020, besides has an outsized Puerto Rican community.

Even earlier the disfigured MSG rally, Trump had made arguable moves that alienated Puerto Ricans, particularly his insubstantial towel-tossing stunt arsenic the land battled devastation from Hurricane Maria.

As president, helium besides mused astir selling Puerto Rico, whose residents are U.S. citizens, oregon trading it for mineral affluent Greenland.

Ironically, the code took spot hours aft Harris campaigned astatine a Puerto Rican edifice successful Philadelphia and outlined her programme for the island, which does not get a ballot successful statesmanlike elections.

“Trump is the aforesaid old, bushed playbook: Divide and demean,” Ian Sams, a Harris run aide, said Monday. “It’s a stark reminder of who helium is.”