Could Puerto Rico racist jibe dampen Donald Trump’s prospects in Pennsylvania?- The Week

A day after a US comedian called Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage’ before a packed Donald Trump rally in New York, the president of the Republican party’s branch in the island territory has demanded an apology from the former US president.

Angel M Cintrón, the party’s chair on the island said he would not vote for Trump unless he said sorry for the speaker’s comments.

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s at the Madison Square Gallery in New York sparked a row, which is likely to hurt Trump as the US election campaign enters its final week. Puerto Ricans form a large portion of the Latino vote in Pennsylvania, a key swing state.

“There’s a lot going on, like I don’t know if you 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,” said Hinchcliffe.

He also made racist comments against the Latinos claiming they “love making babies”.

Both Republicans and Democrats criticised Hinchcliffe over his remarks. However, Danielle Alvarez, Trump’s campaign spokesperson, in a statement said that “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

Not just the Latinos, Hinchcliffe’s comments were also offensive to Jews and Black people.

Floria Republican, Rep Carlos Gimenez, who is a close ally of Trump, criticised Hinchcliffe’s remarks and said, “This is not a joke. It’s completely classless and in poor taste.”

New York GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito said, “I’m proud to be Puerto Rican. The only thing that’s ‘garbage’ was a bad comedy set.”

Even Hollywood artists came to the forefront supporting Puerto Ricans. Latin artist Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, also known as Bad Bunny, shared on his Instagram, a video of Kamala Harris lashing out at Trump for delaying $20 billion hurricane aid in 2017.

Even, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin shared the video and Harris’s plan for Puerto Rico.