Trump rallies in majority Latino town in Pennsylvania after supporters' crude, racist remarks

ALLENTOWN, PA. Former President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to quell anger over a comedian's insulting jokes about Latinos and Puerto Rico at his Madison Square Garden rally, campaigning in a majority-Latino city as the tumult threatens to erode the gains he made with Latino voters.

Trump made no mention of the comedian's remarks in New York in his 75-minute speech, citing polls that show him performing well among Latino voters and expressing solidarity with Puerto Rico.

“I will provide the best future for Puerto Ricans and Hispanic Americans,” he said.

At the end of his appearance, Trump called to the podium Puerto Rico's Republican shadow senator, who congratulated him and vouched for his commitment to the U.S. territory days after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe likened Puerto Rico to a floating island of garbage, among a series of jokes at Trump's event on Sunday.

“The people of Puerto Rico trust you and we have high hopes,” said Zoraida Bux, a Republican who is one of Puerto Rico's non-voting “shadow senators” who are pushing for the creation of a state. “We need this man in the White House. We need this man to be our commander in chief. He will make us feel safe. And he will protect us.”

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Before Trump arrived on stage, some speakers also took care to celebrate Puerto Rico.

Tim Ramos, former candidate for mayor of Allentown, introduced himself to the crowd as a Puerto Rican who wanted to express his love for the island and the people of Puerto Rico.

We have a proud heritage, one that has seen our men fight in every war this nation has ever fought, he said. We are a beautiful people from a beautiful island.

Bux, who also spoke before Trump's arrival, described Puerto Rico as a beautiful island with a deep love for his country.

Blessed by God, this is our home, she added. This is Puerto Rico.

Another speaker, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., gave a speech in Spanish and English. Rubio, who previously criticized Hinchcliffe's comment about X, did not mention the episode Tuesday.

The pro-Puerto Rican message follows two days of growing outrage over Hinchcliffe's appearance at the Trump rally Sunday at the famous Manhattan arena.

In an interview on Fox News Tuesday night, Trump said he did not know the comedian.

“Someone said there was a comedian joking about Puerto Rico or something, and I have no idea who that is,” Trump said. He added: “I don't want anyone to make nasty jokes or stupid jokes. They probably shouldn't have been there.

In the midst of a tight race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Hinchcliffe's comment disparaged a slice of the electorate that could swing a close election. In Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state, the Puerto Rican population stands at nearly 500,000 people, according to census estimates. People of Puerto Rican descent make up the largest share of eligible Latino voters in Pennsylvania.

Matt Tuerk, the Democratic mayor of Allentown, said in an interview that his constituents were “furious.”

“People are going to turn that anger into a vote. That's how people are going to react,” he said. “We don’t get angry, we get angry.”

Even before the rally at Madison Square Garden ended, condemnations poured in. Elected officials from both parties, pop culture figures, artists and ordinary voters balked at the remark. Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny supported Harris and released a video paying tribute to the island, giving him a tongue-in-cheek caption: “Garbage.”

Hinchcliffe's comment comes at a particularly inopportune time for the Trump campaign. Recent polls from Reuters/Ipsos, NBC News/CNBC/Telemundo and others show that Trump has erased the advantage among Hispanic men that Joe Biden and other Democratic candidates enjoyed in 2020 and other recent elections.

Rep. Susan Wild, a Democrat who represents the Allentown area, told reporters Tuesday that in her district we have 70,000 Puerto Ricans and large numbers of Hispanics and Latinos who are not Puerto Ricans, and outrage is palpable.

I hear more about this than almost any other issue during the entire election season, she said.

Aware of the consequences, the Trump campaign held a rally at a hockey rink in Allentown that sent an affirmative message about the island.

However, Trump has yet to personally denounce this insult. His campaign released a statement: This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.

Before his appearance in Allentown, Trump told ABC News that the event at Madison Square Garden was a celebration of love. He said he did not know Hinchcliffe and had not seen the comment.

Trump has rarely suffered lasting political damage when he or one of his allies has made insulting or inflammatory remarks. There is normally an intense but short-lived concentration on what has been said before attention turns to the next provocation.

Democrats argue that the insult to Puerto Rico could be different, even if Trump didn't say it himself. The comment came from a guest speaker standing at a lectern with the Trump-Vance campaign logo.

It was a horrible and vile comment to make at a rally sponsored by a presidential campaign that should be held accountable, Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat who is in a tight race for re-election in Pennsylvania, told reporters Tuesday . campaign stop in Allentown.

In the hours leading up to Trump's speech, protesters gathered outside the arena. One of the protesters, Enid Santiago, 46, told NBC News that the comment galvanized apathetic voters who might have been inclined to sit out the race.

Santiago, who was born in Puerto Rico and now lives in Allentown, said people who were a little burned out on politics and sitting around are now pissed.

Tairy Pagan, 41, also born in Puerto Rico and living in Allentown, stood outside the arena with a Harris campaign sign. For her, the comedians' denigration of Puerto Rico was reminiscent of Trump's handling of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island during the first year of his presidency. During a visit after the storm, Trump tossed rolls of paper towels to residents of the stricken island.

We suffered greatly from Hurricane Maria, Pagan said. He was our president and he was just throwing paper napkins at us. Were worthy people.

He needs to know us personally, she said.

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