On Sunday night, as Democratic presidential candidates announced new economic proposals for Puerto Rico, Philadelphia City Councilman Quesi Lozada was attending a campaign event with Vice President Kamala Harris at a local restaurant.
Mr. Lozada is of Puerto Rican descent and represents Philadelphia’s 7th City Council District, where more than 50% of the population is Latino, primarily Puerto Rican.
As Lozada left a campaign event, her cell phone started exploding. During Trump’s rally in New York, contacts began texting her videos of racist remarks made by the comedian.
“I had to get in the car and watch the video and play it over and over to make sure I was actually hearing it,” Lozada said in an interview. “I was completely frustrated and angry, but not surprised.”
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe was opening the Trump campaign rally in New York as the Harris campaign was announcing its policy proposals for Puerto Rico. When Mr. Hinchcliffe introduced himself, he made racist and derogatory comments about Puerto Ricans.
“There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you guys know this, but right now there’s literally a floating island of trash in the middle of the ocean. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” the comedian said. said Hinchcliffe, who is also the host of the popular podcast and stand-up comedy show Kill Tony.
The racist comments spread like wildfire, sparking anger and outrage in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is one of the most important battleground states in the US election, and many experts believe it is critical to winning the White House. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are more than 472,000 Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania.
Iemele Ayala, a Puerto Rican voter who also attended Harris’ campaign event in Philadelphia, found Hinchcliffe’s comments offensive.
“We should take this at face value. People’s actions tell the truth about themselves,” Ayala says. “And this is not the first time our Puerto Rican community has felt disrespected.”
Ayala, a Harris supporter, said her first thought after seeing the video of the racist remarks was, “We still have a lot of work to do.”
The backlash over racist comments led Democratic leaders to criticize the Trump campaign for seizing the opportunity to mobilize voters in the Latino community. On Monday morning, Lozada joined the Harris campaign at a press conference and condemned the racist comments.
The Guardian spoke to community leaders and voters in Puerto Rico who expressed their anger at racism and hoped it would motivate people to vote for Harris in the key state.
Lozada said the racist comments were indicative of the Trump campaign’s view of immigrant communities, saying, “Today, Puerto Ricans are being talked about. Not too long ago, it was Venezuelans, Mexicans. and immigrants in general.”
During Trump’s rally, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez livestreamed their reactions to racist comments.
“Who is that jackwad?” Walz asked, adding, “There are hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans in battleground states. We need to send a message to them. They need to vote.”
In response, comedian Hinchcliffe posted a post on X (formerly Twitter) saying that Democrats “have no sense of humor.”
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“I love Puerto Rico and I vacation there,” the comedian added. “I made fun of everyone…look at the whole set. I’m Tim the comedian…maybe it’s time to change your tampon.”
The Trump campaign sought to distance itself from Hinchcliffe’s comments. “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or his campaign,” a Trump campaign adviser said in a statement to Fox News. Other Republicans, including Florida Sen. Rick Scott, also sought to distance themselves from the racist remarks.
Puerto Ricans on the island are not eligible to vote, even though they are U.S. citizens. However, people based in each US state can vote.
After the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States. In 1917, Puerto Ricans became U.S. citizens. However, because of its island status, Puerto Ricans on the island pay no federal income taxes and have no political representation in Congress, except for non-voting members.
In 2006, a major recession hit the island. Puerto Rico’s government borrowed heavily to deal with its economic problems, which created a tremendous debt crisis. In 2016, Congress passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Control, and Economic Stability Act, which created a financial oversight commission known as “La Junta” to manage the island’s budget to repay Puerto Rico’s creditors. The Financial Supervisory Board has introduced austerity and privatization programs to encourage investors to flock to Puerto Rico.
On Sunday, the Harris campaign announced a new economic plan for Puerto Rico. Harris has promised to promote the island’s “opportunity economy” if elected.
“We will work with the private sector, the Puerto Rican government, local governments, and other stakeholders to strengthen the energy grid, position Puerto Rico as the industrial hub of the future, and position the island as a vibrant economic and cultural center. “We will fight to elevate her role,” the Harris campaign said in a fact sheet published on the campaign’s website.
During the Trump administration, events in Puerto Rico plunged the island into further turmoil. In 2017, a devastating hurricane struck the island, causing deaths and extensive damage in Puerto Rico. After Hurricane Maria, President Trump considered selling Puerto Rico. Later, reports revealed that the Trump administration had delayed more than $20 billion in hurricane relief aid to the island after the hurricane struck. During his trip to Puerto Rico, Trump also faced backlash after throwing paper towels at crowds in need.
“Giving this person the opportunity to lead our country could have dire consequences,” Lozada said. “At the end of the day, they just helped us. With this last incident, they helped the Democratic Party where we’re going to be on November 5th.”
Ayala, a Puerto Rican voter, agreed. Ayala said Sunday night’s racist comments “underestimate the power we have in this country in numbers.”
“The state of America and this country is built on the sweat, blood and shoulders of our communities,” Ayala added. “We don’t take that lightly.”
