The repercussions of the Republican Trump-Vance campaign's decision to include comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's racist material at a Sunday MAGA rally at Madison Square Garden are still being strongly felt two days later.
While Trump's MAGA minions dismiss the numerous instances of bigotry in his act as just (racist) jokes that their leader didn't personally say, others aren't as forgiving.
The Trump camp's choice to approve Hinchcliffe's racist and antisemitic set generated numerous new endorsements for Democratic candidates Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
As reported by The Bulwark, the Trump-Vance campaign only nixed one joke that included a reference to Vice President Harris with a misogynist slur—meaning they approved the rest before loading it in the teleprompter.
Now Harris-Walz 2024 is pointing out this isn't the first time Trump dumped on the island of Puerto Rico in a new campaign ad.
You can see the ad here:
The ad begins with one of Tony Hinchcliffe's racist jokes.
...a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean... I think it's called Puerto Rico."
Followed by Trump saying:
Puerto Rico."
Vice President Harris then says:
I will never forget what Donald Trump did. He abandoned the island and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults. Puerto Ricans deserve better.
As President, I will always fight for you and your families and together we can chart a new way forward."
In addition to the ad highlighting Trump's disdain for Puerto Rico, Vice President Harris shared her vision for their future if she's elected.
The ad was shared by Harris-Walz's rapid response account—Kamala HQ—across social media.
People appreciated the support and concurred with the ad's message.
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But can these racist jokes really impact the election after Trump's own long history of racism?
Residents of Puerto Rico—and the United States' other territories—have no say in presidential elections because of the electoral college. As of 2024, the United States has five permanently inhabited territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
U.S. territory residents can vote in primaries and caucuses because those are decided by popular tabulation—most votes wins—instead of electoral votes. Territories also have non-voting representation in Congress as does Washington, DC.
However, Washington, DC is the only non-state to be enfranchised for presidential elections, having gained 3 electoral votes through the ratification of the 23rd Amendment in 1961.
Puerto Rico's impact on the 2024 election won't be through voters in Puerto Rico, but rather through stateside Puerto Ricans—those who reside in one of the 50 states or Washington, DC where they are entitled to a presidential vote.
As of the 2020 Census, Puerto Ricans are the second largest Hispanic group nationwide, after Mexicans, with the majority concentrated in Florida and the Northeast—New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
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According to a recent report from the BBC, Pennsylvania is home to about 600,000 eligible Latino voters with more than 470,000 of them being Puerto Ricans.
Has the Trump-Vance campaign just shot itself in the foot in a swing state where Harris and Trump were in an extremely tight race?
Regarding Trump's MAGA rally's garbage joke, Pennsylvania business owner Dalma Santiago told the BBC:
"Everybody has their own opinion."
"But nobody will be forgetting that one."
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