‘Uproar’ among Puerto Ricans after racist talk at Trump rally

Some Latino elected officials and members of the state’s Puerto Rican community joined the chorus of criticism that erupted Sunday afternoon after a campaign speaker spoke. rally in support of former President Donald Trump made crude and racist remarks against Puerto Ricans and other groups.

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean” and said Latinos “love having babies” during his speech at the opening of a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. . characterized as “vile racist tirade against Latinos“

“Whether it was a comedy or not, (Hinkliffe) just insulted an entire population of Puerto Rico,” Massachusetts state Sen. Adam Gomez, a Springfield Democrat, said in an interview.

Gomez, who in 2020 became first Puerto Rican elected to the Massachusetts Senatecalled Hinchcliffe’s comments “inflammatory,” “racist” and “an attack on all Latinos.”

Gómez pointed to the significant contributions of the Puerto Rican community to all areas of American life, including culture, politics, military service, activism and innovation. Despite such contributions, the rhetoric at Sunday’s rally demonstrates that the Trump campaign views Puerto Ricans and other Latinos as “second-class citizens,” Gomez said.

“The Puerto Rican community is distraught and we are upset,” Gomez said, calling on the Trump campaign to apologize. “That’s why there are people who want to divide rather than unite the nation.”

Hinchcliffe’s comments could backfire on Trump as the former president tries to attract voters in swing states just nine days before the election, Gomez said.

“Puerto Ricans are influencing all the swing states. There are Puerto Ricans in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. . . in Florida,” Gomez said. “One thing that the people of Puerto Rico are good at is not forgetting who insults our culture and who insults our people. . . . We will never forget.”

The Puerto Rican Democratic Party also condemned Hinchcliffe’s racist criticism, issuing a statement on Sunday condemning the comments on social media.

“Puerto Ricans may forgive, but they will never forget,” party chairman Luis Davila Pernas said in a statement calling Hinchcliffe’s comments “a disgusting display of discrimination.”

“Puerto Ricans have fought, bled and sacrificed to uphold our country’s democratic values ​​and have built communities across the United States,” Davila Pernas said. “To allow such derogatory remarks on a public stage in New York City—the historic home of one of the largest off-island Puerto Ricans—is not only unacceptable, but disgustingly disrespectful.”

State Representative Andres J. Vargas, a Haverhill Democrat of Dominican descent, called the rally “complete racist and fascist demonstration” in a social media post Sunday evening.

“It’s easy to become desensitized at this point. Don’t,” Vargas wrote. “All of us who love this big, beautiful, diverse country must find a way to personally reach the Trump-leaning voters among our families and friends.”

Gomez called on Puerto Ricans in Massachusetts and elsewhere to go to the polls.

“We know that Boricuas vote and Boricuas pay attention,” Gomez said. “And we will be heard loudly in the upcoming elections. . . . I think you’ll see a lot of people starting to wake up now.”

Madeline Howe can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @maddiekhaw.