TO comic’s racist remark about Puerto Ricans at a rally to drum up help for Donald Trump seems to have been a political boomerang for the Republican presidential candidate, days earlier than the November 5 election. With surveys displaying a Extraordinarily shut presidential raceThe main setback might shake Trump by way of Latino voters, particularly within the swing state of Pennsylvania, house to almost half one million Puerto Ricans.
Comic Tony Hinchcliffe’s 11-minute efficiency at Madison Sq. Backyard final week included a collection of racially offensive feedback towards Latinos, Jews and blacks. Nonetheless, his remark calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of rubbish” attracted probably the most consideration and fury.
“Proper now there’s actually a floating island of rubbish in the midst of the ocean. I feel it is referred to as Puerto Rico,” Hinchcliffe stated, additionally sparking outrage amongst Democrats and Republicans.
The prank backfired, and the Trump marketing campaign scrambled to do injury management amongst Latino voters. The previous president has claimed he didn’t know Hinchcliffe despite the fact that he has confronted calls to apologize from the Archbishop of Puerto Rico.
LATIN VOTE IN BATTLE STATES
Surveys have proven that Trump competes neck and neck with Democrat Kamala Harris in disputed states and the controversy may tip the stability. Harris already obtained a lift after one of many world’s greatest Latino celebrities, Puerto Rican rapper Unhealthy Bunny, endorsed her for president.
A number of Puerto Rican music icons, together with Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin, additionally condemned Hinchcliffe’s feedback. “That is what they consider us… Vote for Kamala Harris,” Martin wrote to his 18 million followers on Instagram.
Puerto Rico is an American island within the Caribbean. Whereas residents of Puerto Rico can’t vote within the presidential election, Puerto Ricans dwelling within the continental United States may affect the race in key states akin to Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona.
In accordance with 2022 knowledge, there are 5.9 million Puerto Ricans in america, which constitutes the second largest inhabitants of Hispanic origin in america after Mexicans.
Previous election outcomes have proven that battleground states are sometimes determined by slender margins. Due to this fact, any change in help amongst Latino and Hispanic voters might be important.
Within the 2020 US election, Biden narrowly gained by 1.2 factors in Pennsylvania, the place Puerto Ricans make up 3.7% of the inhabitants. Trump gained Pennsylvania in 2016. In Georgia and Arizona, the US president’s margin of victory was simply 0.2 and 0.3 factors.
This means that if the electoral battle goes to the top within the swing states, the racist remark about Latinos days earlier than the elections may affect Trump’s destiny.
Not solely in undecided states, Puerto Rican votes may even be key in non-battleground states like Florida. Latinos symbolize about 5.6% of Florida’s whole inhabitants. Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York state even have vital Latino populations.
HAS THERE BEEN A PRECEDENT?
Nonetheless, this isn’t the primary time Trump has confronted backlash from Puerto Ricans. The most recent feedback are harking back to Trump’s mockery of “shithole international locations” in 2018, when the then-president criticized immigration from El Salvador and Haiti.
Some social media customers additionally recalled his response to Hurricane Maria, when he threw paper towels at survivors in Puerto Rico and referred to as the island “soiled.”
Because the begin of his marketing campaign, Trump has targeted on turning Hispanic voters away from Democrats. Nonetheless, a comic’s 11-minute act can alienate the group.
