US Election Live: Speaker defends racist Puerto Rican joke at Trump rally amid backlash | 2024 US Election

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good morning. I’m Richard Luscombe from the United States, replacing my colleague Daniel Lovell. Over the next few hours, we’ll take you through what will be an exciting first day of what will be the last full week of an exhausting and bruising presidential campaign.

Joe Biden is scheduled to vote this morning in Wilmington, Delaware, before heading to the White House. His first scheduled public remarks are scheduled for Diwali this afternoon, and we’ll be watching to see what comments he makes when he votes.

Kamala Harris is scheduled to travel to Saginaw, Michigan, this afternoon to meet with union members ahead of Monday night’s rally in Ann Arbor.

Donald Trump is visiting Georgia and has an event scheduled for tonight in Atlanta.

In Wisconsin, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, a Democrat, will appear in Manitowoc and Waukesha before joining Harris in Ann Arbor. Republican J.D. Vance will represent Wausau and Racine.

As we prepare for today’s election festivities, my colleague Adam writes about the day’s events (at least so far), Trump’s racism, anger, and vitriol at Madison Square Garden last night. It’s worth reading the article. Gabat and Ed Pilkington:

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Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz will visit key battleground states to win support from the Navajo Nation.

Walz traveled to Window Rock, Ariz., the capital of the Navajo Nation, on Saturday afternoon to connect with Navajo voters just 10 days before the general election.

“It’s an honor to stand here on Navajo land,” said Minnesota Governor Walz. “Thank you for bringing me here. I’m here today because even though there are 10 days until the election, we will not take voting for granted. is here to honor the Navajo Nation and get your vote.”

Walz spoke about the importance of indigenous communities in the state, which is home to 11 federally recognized Native American tribes.

“Supreme law is to respect tribal sovereignty, promote intertribal consultation, and ensure tribal self-determination across this nation,” Walz said. “If tribal nations are doing well, and your children are doing well, the rest of the country will be doing well.”

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Liz Cheney is ‘confident’ Kamala Harris will win election

Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney said she is “confident” that Kamala Harris will be the next president.

“We’re not cruel, we’re not evil, we’re not choosing these people,” she said at an event called “An Afternoon with Liz Cheney” held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. No,” he said.

Cheney claimed that during the Capitol riot, Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, presented a weapon and offered to help evacuate the building. Cheney reportedly responded, “Please stay away from me. You did this.”

She said the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times’ decisions not to publish support for the president-elect “all come from fear.”

Fear, she says, is “a tool used by all dictators.”

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Updated to 08.02 EDT

A second Washington Post columnist has resigned after the paper failed to endorse a presidential candidate.

Michelle Norris announced on X: “Yesterday, I decided to step down from my position as a columnist for the Washington Post, my favorite newspaper.” In times like these, everyone has to make their own decisions. This is my reason. ”

It added that the paper’s failure to endorse was a “terrible mistake” and “an affront to its own longstanding standards of regularly endorsing candidates since 1976”.

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Tony Hinchcliffe doubles down on hateful jokes at Trump rally

In response to Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s objection to racist jokes at Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night, Tony Hinchcliffe told X: Posted on.

These people have no sense of humor. It’s wild that a vice presidential candidate would take time out of his “busy schedule” to analyze jokes taken out of context that seem racist. I love Puerto Rico and I love vacationing there. I made fun of everyone…look at the whole set. I’m Tim the Comedian…Maybe it’s time to change your tampon.

Ocasio-Cortez was attending an event with Vice President Tim Walz when news of the comment broke.

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Updated to EDT 08.03

AOC: Racist Puerto Rican joke at Trump rally ‘very upsetting’

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez says she found Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke at Trump rally ‘very upsetting’

Hinchcliffe’s racist jokes included:

“Right now, there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

“These Latinos also love to have babies. Just know that. That’s right. That’s right. No unplugging. They don’t do that. They come in. Just like they did to our country.”

Democratic Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), who is of Puerto Rican descent, watched the comedian’s set with vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and commented:

If any of you guys call Puerto Rico “floating trash,” know that that’s what they think of you. It’s what they think about people who earn less than them…I want all Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia and Redding and across the country to see this clip. ”

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Updated to EDT 08.03

Tech titan Elon Musk spoke at the MSG rally and introduced Melania Trump.

President Trump called Musk a “genius” and “a special person.”

“Your money is being wasted, and the government efficiency department will fix that,” Musk said.

Trump’s claim that Musk is a genius is slightly undermined by his business record. Some of Mr. Musk’s companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, rely on U.S. subsidies and government contracts.

Mr. Musk’s stewardship of Tesla has been marked by over-promising and under-delivering on a range of products, including fully self-driving cars. The so-called Hyperloop, which was meant to revolutionize transportation, was eventually scrapped to make way for parking lots. Two million Tesla cars have been recalled due to safety concerns, and the Tesla Roadster, which was promised to consumers in 2017, has been postponed again this year.

Since acquiring Twitter (now X) for $44 billion, the social media platform’s value has fallen by more than half.

Musk has also faced criticism following reports that he had private talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Updated to EDT 07.20

Trump campaign distances itself from racist jokes at rally

Donald Trump’s campaign is moving to distance the presidential candidate from racist insults against Puerto Ricans following backlash over comments he made at a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden last night.

“I don’t know if you guys know this, but right now there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean, and I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” said stand-up comic Tony at a Republican event. Hinchcliffe said. His set also included obscene and racist comments against Latinos, Jews, and Black people, key constituencies in an election just nine days away.

His joke was quickly criticized by Kamala Harris’ camp. Puerto Rican music superstar Bad Bunny endorsed Harris shortly after Hinchcliffe’s appearance.

The normally combative Trump campaign took the unusual step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe. “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or his campaign,” senior adviser Daniel Alvarez said in a statement.

Several Republicans, including Angel Cintron, the island’s Republican leader, and U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, who represents part of Miami and has attended recent Trump events, also echoed Hinchcliffe’s comments. criticized.

Puerto Rican artist Luis Fonsi, who sings the hit song “Despacito,” posted on Instagram that “walking down the path of racism is wrong.”

“We cannot accept this constant hate,” he wrote in a message shared on Instagram. “It’s abundantly clear that these people have no respect for us.”

Singer Ricky Martin, who previously supported Harris, was also offended by the comments, saying on Instagram: “That’s what they think of us.”

We’ll talk more about this in other developments soon.

President Trump is scheduled to join the National Faith Advisory Council this afternoon for the Faith Summit in Atlanta, and then attend a rally in the city.

Harris and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz will hold a joint campaign rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Monday.

Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen are at a campaign rally for Harris in Philadelphia.

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