Democrats Spotlight Racist Puerto Rico Insult At Trump Rally Amid Battle For Latinos

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Philadelphia on Oct. 27, 2024. (Michelle Gustafson for The Washington Post)

By Sabrina Rodriguez and Hannah Knowles

PHILADELPHIA — Democrats moved quickly Monday to cast a spotlight on the fallout from Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, where sexist, racist and other demeaning insults were used by opening speakers, including a stand-up comedian who called Puerto Rico an “island of garbage” and broadly disparaged Latinos.

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Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign held a news conference in Philadelphia, where Puerto Rican leaders expressed outrage at the Sunday remarks from podcast host and comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. A Democratic super PAC was texting hundreds of thousands of Puerto Rican voters in Pennsylvania to make sure they saw a clip from the rally. And the Harris campaign was also preparing to launch a new ad related to the remarks, according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations.

Trump’s team scrambled to contain the backlash and direct attention to other topics. Campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in an interview on Fox News that Hinchcliffe made a “joke in poor taste,” but she said the crowd “didn’t mind” and suggested the episode was overblown.

“I think it is sad that the media will pick up on one joke that was made by a comedian rather than the truths that were shared by the phenomenal list of speakers that we had,” Leavitt said.

The dueling strategies, coming eight days before Election Day, put a renewed focus on how both candidates are competing for voters of color, including Latino voters whose decisions at the ballot box weigh heavily in several key battleground states where polls show a close race. Here in Pennsylvania, which strategists in both parties regard as perhaps the biggest prize of all, Latinos account for about 6 percent of eligible voters, about half of them Puerto Rican.

Some Democrats have worried throughout this election season about losing the support of some Latino voters, even as polls show that a majority of them support Harris. In a close race, any erosion in support from a longtime stalwart of the Democratic coalition could be pivotal. The controversy that erupted over the Sunday Trump rally introduced a new element into the race, with voters already casting ballots in key states.

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