One of the most important elections in our lifetime is in eight days, and the candidates are doing everything to whip support for their campaigns. However, for former President Donald Trump, those efforts manifested in a rally in New York filled with racist language that has left political pundits and voters disgusted and outraged. 

The rally at Madison Square Garden this weekend leaned heavily into the racist rhetoric that has become a central tenet of the campaign. The most egregious moment of the rally was the blatant attack on Puerto Rico and its people.

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe opened the rally by attacking Puerto Rico

“There’s a lot going on. 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,” Tony Hinchliffe, whose stage name is Kill Tony, told the crowd at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Former President Trump has long maligned Puerto Rico and its people both while in office and while out of office. His administration handled Puerto Rico’s crisis after the hurricanes of 2017 as an annoyance rather than an island of American citizens needing aid and help. He did more to block relief efforts than he did to help Americans needing help to rebuild.

How can we forget him famously blaming the delay of aid to Puerto Rico being an “island surrounded by big water.”

He then showed up on the island to offer what he considered help. Instead of bringing aid, President Trump used his time in Puerto Rico to throw paper towels into a crowd.

Kill Tony continued to be racist towards Latinos in the name of Trump

Later on in his speech, the comedian continued his racist attacks on the Latino community. He discussed the perceived sexual practices of Latino couples and compared them to immigration.

“And these Latinos, they love making babies too. Just know that. They do. They do,” Kill Tony told the crowd. “There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside just like they did to our country.”

While the Trump campaign has been in damage control mode and claims that the speech does not reflect the candidate’s views, Kill Tony was reading from a teleprompter. 

Many political pundits and social media users are pushing back on that narrative, claiming that the speech had to be approved by the campaign to be uploaded to the teleprompter. 

So, basically, Trump and his team co-signed the maligning of Puerto Rico and Latinos because they know their base.

No doubt they are only backtracking because of how many Puerto Ricans live in states that Republicans desperately need to win. One million Puerto Ricans live in New York, where Kill Tony made the speech.

As for the battleground states, well, there are 450,000 Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania, 100,000 Puerto Ricans in North Carolina, 65,000 Puerto Ricans in Michigan, 50,000 Puerto Ricans in Wisconsin, and 1 million Puerto Ricans in Florida.

Bad Bunny refused to stay silent

Unlike Nicky Jam and Anuel A, who cozied up to former President Trump during a rally, Bad Bunny is standing up for his fellow Puerto Ricans. Shortly after the speech went viral, Bad Bunny took to social media with a full-throated endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States.

The entertainer took to Instagram and shared Vice President Harris’s statement slamming former President Trump’s handling of Puerto Rico in a time of crisis and uplifting Vice President Harris’s vision for Puerto Rico under her presidency.

Vice President Harris has a plan to help Puerto Rico

The Harris/Walz campaign has a plan to help Puerto Rico reach its full potential through an Opportunity Economy. During the Harris administration, the vice president also laid out a plan that would boost Puerto Rico, not tear it down.

“Working with the private sector, the Puerto Rican government, municipalities, and other stakeholders, they will fight to strengthen the energy grid, make Puerto Rico a hub for industries of the future, and uplift the island’s role as a vibrant economic and cultural center—empowering Puerto Ricans to realize their dreams and aspirations,” reads the Harris/Walz Building an Opportunity Economy for Puerto Rico plan.

Honestly, we shouldn’t be surprised by this behavior, but their disdain for Latinos continues to get worse and more blatant.

Tags:

Share this Story